Studio Focus: Surface Design with Digital Print

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Interior designers offer both residential and commercial clients endless opportunities when it comes to their indoor and outdoor living spaces. Pairing their design knowledge with a local print business’ capabilities and expertise allows for the creation of unique, one-of-a-kind wallpaper and wallcoverings.

Material optimized for digital printing that is ultimately used for wall-based applications can portray any imaginable aesthetic. This includes relying on a PVC-free, gloss finish for something subject to a lot of human touch. Or, a more high-end look, like a matte, paper-based material with flecks of metallic used in a hotel or personal residence.

For those design studios aware of the capabilities of digital print and the benefits it can bring to their business, they are ahead of their peers and successfully leveraging this knowledge to their advantage. Eskayel, a NY-based textile design studio, is one such company.

Sustainable Commitment Shannon Campanaro, founder/creative director, Eskayel, started the business in 2009. She specializes in surface design—wallcoverings, fabric, rugs, and carpet. Her custom design services have touched customers in Asia, Canada, Europe, and the U.S. A total of five employees and two interns work out of an 800 square foot dual showroom and studio space.

All of Eskayel’s wallcovering and fabric is digitally printed. Most of the company’s work is residential, but Campanaro admits that the hospitality market is growing, especially over the past couple of years. Digitally printed wallpaper by Eskayel is used in everything from dining rooms to powder rooms.

Campanaro and her staff are intimately involved in choosing materials for each project. “We offer a variety of substrates from traditional clay coated to paper to nylon-latex saturated, recycled poly-vinyl alternatives, and grasscloths. Our fabrics are primarily Belgian linens,” she explains.

For wide format, its proprietary material is eco-friendly and suggested for residential and light commercial use as it meets ASTM 793 standards for commercial wallcovering. The wood pulp fibers that make up the paper derive from FSC-certified wood harvesting and pulping operations. Under typical commercial landfill conditions the paper breaks down quickly and naturally.

The material supports Eskayel’s commitment to sustainability, as do many others in the portfolio. In addition to eco-friendly substrates, designs are printed with water-based pigment ink, production is handled regionally, and materials are sourced sustainability. The studio makes each item to order to eliminate stock waste and ensure superior quality.

Digital printing is an important element. The economical, short-run and one-off capabilities of wide format digital printing make the made-to-order process a reality. Eskayel outsources its printing capabilities to trusted partners that use printers from Epson and HP Inc.

“The digital printing process eliminates the issue of runoff, which is the most detrimental aspect of the fabric and wallpaper printing process, as opposed to traditional screened printing which uses solvent inks and is the one of the most detrimental aspects of wallpaper production,” according to the Eskayel website.

Once printed, the wallpaper is sent off to the client in question. Eskayel has a list of trusted installers in the NY tristate area that it recommends, as well as a few others in additional cities. The same installers decide whether a coating or some other protective measure is required for the wallpaper. Campanaro notes that while she and her team are not trained wallcovering installers, she knows that DreamScape’s DreamGuard protective topcoat is used often.

A recent job was completed for owners of a townhouse in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard. Wallpapers designed by Eskayel were installed throughout a number of rooms in the space. A pink floral wallpaper is placed in the living room, pink geometric wallpaper in the dining area, and a dream-like wallpaper is also in the master suite. All of the wallpaper was digitally printed using a 54-inch HP Latex device.

According to Campanaro, the designer was amazing to work with and the client was incredible too.

Building a Business Residential or commercial, any space benefits from a digitally printed wallcovering. Design studios like Eskayel are building their business based on digital printing by offering limited runs and even one offs of contracted designs for its clients. All of Eskayel’s work in the wall graphics space is printed using digital printers. Whether outsourced or even brought in house, the technology available today is enabling a host of possibilities in the design world.