Dream it, design it, print it

Digitally printed fabrics have yielded creative, one-of-a-kind solutions for the home interiors market. The sky is seemingly the limit when it comes to design and end-product potential. Print shops and end product manufacturers have delivered a variety of products for clients, including wall coverings, draperies, blinds, pillows, bedspreads and upholstered furnishings.

Although it’s been in business for less than a year, Digital Leather, Sarasota, Fla., has developed a few key products using its digitally printable leather. A customer in the United Kingdom requested chairs that showcase playing cards for his poker room. In another instance, an interior designer captured elements of an original orchid painting and turned them into a pattern for a chair.

Meanwhile, Joseph Terramagra of Mimaki USA in Suwanee, Ga., has seen his company’s printers used for many home interiors products, including a couch made of imitation leather. “It’s getting to the point where you can use a lot of these imitation materials to look much more high end, have good quality and hit the smaller markets,” he says.

Pictura Graphics of Minneapolis, Minn., crafted a series of wall murals and floor graphics for an episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” The show contacted the digital graphics and printing company with some ideas—some of them were sketches on a napkin faxed to Pictura—who then tapped its own library to find the appropriate images. The resulting project featured a three-panel wall mural at the home’s entrance, along with a Minnesota Wild vinyl floor graphic in a boy’s bedroom.

The heart of the project is the secret playroom in the basement. Pictura created, printed and installed wall coverings decorated with abstract floral patterns. The flower theme continued on pillows, blankets and ottomans printed via dye sublimation.