What are wall graphics?
Well, simply put, they are graphics that are installed on a wall!
Here in our wide format division we refer to wall graphics as a project that has an adhesive backing that will stick directly to a wall. Most of the wall graphics projects we come across are meant to stay up for a good amount of time and are used as an art piece (like the photo below) or as a functional part of the room (like a full sized wall map for a logistics company for example.) One common example of a wall graphic is a Fathead wall decal.
On this project the art panels are cut to fit into glass conference room windows. The top windows are completely covered while the bottom window graphic panels have been cut into shoe shapes to allow some visibility. Problems with wall graphics:
The wrong material – this is the #1 problem with wall graphics. Make sure that your supplier has all the right information before producing (or even quoting) your project. They will need to know what surface the piece will be adhering to consists of (paint, metal, brick, wall paper, etc.) They will also need to know how long you would like the piece to stay up (for a 3 day conference, for a 2 month contest, or forever!) If the wrong material is printed and supplied for the project the end results could get ugly.
For example: You are needing a full wall dry erase wall graphic for a 3 day training seminar. Your attendees will be using the graphic as a teaching aid. Once the seminar is over the project needs removed immediately. Your vendor was assuming (because there was not a removal time frame discussed) that the wall graphic was to be a permanent fixture and supplied a very aggressive adhesive backed wall graphic made to last years. The wall graphic was installed, used for 3 days and then removed. Well, the wall paper that was on the wall was also removed….and not in a pretty way. Yikes! Now this neat project just turned into an expensive nightmare.
The wrong inks – all inks are not created equally. Some inks fade, others are water resistant, and some crack when applied to flexible materials. We will say it again…Make sure that your supplier has all the right information before producing (or even quoting) your project. Knowing whether your project is indoors or outdoors, whether it will be exposed to sunlight, whether it will be cleaned with chemical cleaners will help your vendor choose the right product for your application.
There is almost nothing worse (for those of us who love printing) than investing in a wall graphic, getting it installed, loving it, it gets dirty, cleaning it and the ink disappearing before your eyes due to the chemical cleaner.
What else you want to know about wall graphics?