Heimtextil 2017 : Explorations and HP

As I sit here at my desk, I am using a HP laptop, and by the side of me I have a HP printer.  So you could say (rightly so) that I am a HP fan.  To me, HP offer quality, reliability and most importantly innovation.  So when I was invited by HP, to attend Heimtextil, which is impressively the most important global event for interior textile, interior designers and interior trends. It was definitely something that both intrigued and excited me, so I said yes.  Three days of being inspired by new interior design ideas and innovation, I had to get involved.

Each year Heimtextil has a theme for its exhibitors, and this year it’s ‘Exploration’ – so a journey, a discovery of something new, I think sums it up nicely.  Perfect for what we were going to experience on our trip to Frankfurt, I thought.  HP were there showcasing HP Latex printing technology in both live demonstrations of the printers and in an amazing booth that had every surface printed using the HP technology.

Lili, Olivia, Ilaria and ME!

I was attending with three other international bloggers, Olivia who is also from the UK – Lust Living,  Aurélie from Paris – Lili in Wonderland, and Ilaria from Italy originally, but now lives in the Netherlands – Ida Interior Lifestyle.

As we wandered around the booth and chatted to one another, together with the HP team and the two interior designers Robin Sprong and Jon Sherman, we were blown away will how clever the HP Latex printing is.  We saw it used on floors, wallpaper, blinds and seating material. We even saw clothing printed using the latex technology.  The message of how versatile latex printing is, was so strong.

Jon Sherman – Flavor Paper

When asked why Jon loves HP Latex printing technology…

”…It has a very smooth consistency to it. If you look at UV printing as the main alternative,
it leaves a lot of dots and leaves it looking very unrealistic. The beauty of latex is the
smoothness of the print and the lack of dots. It really allows you to change people’s vision of
what they’re seeing because it’s so smooth and you can trick the eye a lot more than with a
UV printer.”

So following on from this, what’s so different about HP Latex printing?

Well, as I mentioned its versatility is huge.  With materials being used such as canvas, faux leather, wallpaper and vinyl flooring being on show.  These are just the beginning I feel though, and I can’t wait to see where HP and designers will go next. The realism and quality of the images that are printed are quite outstanding.  As we were about to leave we saw an amazing panoramic scene being printed, of a Rollings Stones concert.  I could imagine it printed in a New York loft style apartment, covering a whole wall, feeling transported that I was actually there that night.

It’s hard to choose a favourite surface, application or an image I saw, but two stuck out.  Behind the bar area of the booth was an amazing floral display, with a pink onyx like bar.  As you can see even the door that is slightly ajar is immersed in the detail :

Instagram

I’m blown away by how amazing the quality and detail of the wallpaper is, that’s been produced by the HP latex printer. I’ve fallen in love with this design, which really plays with both the botanical and dark moody trends. Can you imagine this on a wall in your home? #HPDecor by @amandacotting

“It looks so real wow!”

“I thought that was a real flower “

“Wait, that’s wallpaper? I thought it was a passionflower!”

I’m blown away by how amazing the quality and detail of the wallpaper is, that’s been produced by the HP latex printer. I’ve fallen in love with this design, which really plays with both the botanical and dark moody trends. Can you imagine this on a wall in your home? #HPDecor by @amandacotting

You can see just how enthusiastic I am, and the people on Instagram who follow me were too.  Such amazing quality and detail reproduced on that wallpaper. A depth was achieved, that I haven’t ever seen before in wallpaper, with incredible vivid and real colour.  In the design process when you are choosing how to print these images you can manipulate the image to really shout out texture. I loved that they also chose another natural product but something so much more calming and subdued with the pink onyx too, as a great comparison to sit along side it.

Here we are getting the lowdown from the designers.  They described the project as an interesting marriage of  South African and American design, and the back wall is a great illustration of this, as they each used one of their existing designs to come up with the colour and dramatic back drop.

Could I see this being used in my own home?

Of course, and for a number of reasons. I am a huge fan of printed vinyl floor covering, and my first thought was how cool would it be to choose one of my own images and have it printed on flooring in a room in my house. It would work brilliantly in a bathroom or children’s room, even a kitchen.  There are massive advantages of using it, as its so safe, especially in a home with children. Its 100% water based, POC free, eco-friendly and doesn’t even have an odor when you install it.

Can you think of a way you could use it in your home?

I thought it apt to leave the final word to Robin Sprong about where he sees interior design going in 2017 :

“…I think naturals are going to remain a strong trend in 2017. A lot of trends come from
Pantone giving their colour and theme for each year. I think we’ll see a lot more around
geology, especially things like bones and marble. There’s a lot of concern around nature and
global warming and people are going to be a lot more nature-oriented.
I think in 2017 there’ll be a shift away from patterns and traditional styles of photography to
more unusual angles. Drone photography, hard angles, really abstract angles. They’re all
creating completely different results.”

Huge thanks to the HP team for allowing us this insight into latex printing.