Wall Coverings

Have you ever looked around your office, library, school, restaurant or anywhere else and thought the decor was sorely lacking? Often, that’s the result of lackluster walls. You can dress up a bland wall in several ways. Most people opt for a simple paint job. But maybe you’re wondering, what can you put on walls instead of paint? After all, even a pretty paint color will still leave you with a solid wall and won’t feel customized for your organization or company.

The solution is a custom printed wall covering. Any facility can go from sterile to striking with large-format wall coverings from SpeedPro.

What Are Wall Coverings?

The term “wall coverings” is essentially synonymous with wall murals. While all murals are large-scale displays, wall coverings are generally meant to cover an entire wall. This could be anything from a smaller accent wall to a long hallway or even a two-story atrium wall.

Wall coverings start as large sheets or rolls of mural media, often a type of flexible vinyl, with an adhesive backing. A SpeedPro studio will print your custom graphics onto the mural media and cut it to fit your specifications. One way to think about wall coverings is that they resemble a giant decal or sticker. To install them, you simply remove the backing and allow them to adhere to the wall, pushing out any air bubbles for a smooth finish.

The end result is a display that becomes an impactful part of the environment. Wall coverings can effectively transform a space, which is why they’re a favorite choice for environmental graphics.

How Large Can a Wall Covering Be?

Many print shops won’t be able to handle printing something as large as a mural, but SpeedPro studios can. How big can your mural be? The short answer is as big as you want it to be. There are limitations to the size you can print on one continuous piece of material. However, for larger wall coverings, you can apply different pieces of the whole image right next to each other, like tiles, to create the illusion of a seamless finish.

The maximum size of a wall covering contained on one piece of material depends on the type of printer used to create it. Flatbed and UV printers can create prints up to 5-by-18 feet. Roll-fed printers can produce images up to 6-by-300 feet. The standard ceiling height for most offices is 8 feet or 7.5 feet if there’s a suspended ceiling. In these cases, you can do a floor-to-ceiling wall covering with no seams if the wall is 6 feet across or less.

If you want to stick to a single piece of material and cover a longer wall, you can leave part of your wall painted in an eye-catching color to complement the mural portion and apply your wall covering to the rest of the wall. In this scenario, your custom wall graphics could extend the whole length of the wall, up to 300 feet in some cases.

And remember, you can always get floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall coverage by using separate tiles and carefully applying them with sides touching. The end result will be just as impressive and striking.

Benefits of Wall Coverings

Why should you consider installing a custom wall covering in your facility? Wall coverings offer some significant benefits. Whether the alternative is to leave a wall blank or accessorize it with more traditional types of signage, you’ll find that opting for a wall covering can deliver unique value.

1. They’re High-Impact

For one, wall coverings are unmistakably impactful. When you’re vying for people’s attention, you can be sure they won’t miss a display that covers an entire wall. This can be the perfect way to wow customers or visitors and enhance their experience with your business or organization. Generally, the bigger the display, the higher impact it will be, so don’t shy away from choosing to cover that extra large wall in your facility, as long as it’s in a high-traffic location.

2. They Make a Space More Attractive and Inviting

There’s no doubt that people prefer to be in a space with engaging imagery on the walls than a space with blank walls. A lack of art can make a space feel too sterile. As Americans for the Arts points out, art in public space serves to humanize the built environment, helping a space feel more invigorated with life. Depending on your choice of color, text and imagery, you can use your wall coverings to invoke feelings of happiness, motivation, comfort or inspiration.

3. They Help You Brand Your Space

You can introduce more art into a space in various ways, but with a custom wall covering, you go beyond just enhancing the aesthetic of a building to making it your own. Office wall coverings, for example, can explicitly feature your company’s branding through a logo, slogan, mission statement or values. You can also feature your branding in more subtle ways by incorporating your signature colors and images that point to the purpose of the space or your organization’s history.

4. They Can Serve Practical Purposes

Wall coverings can also serve practical purposes. A prominent example is wayfinding. Directional signage can come in many forms, and in some cases, a wall mural is the perfect choice. For example, a wall covering in your lobby could point people in the direction they need to go to get to certain departments, exhibits or other areas. You can also add wall coverings to hallway walls to provide directions to stairs, elevators, restrooms and more.

5. They’re Convenient to Install and Maintain

Since they’re essentially large stickers, wall coverings are fairly easy to install. This allows you to transform your walls quickly without having to work around a mural artist taking days to create your new work of art. By carefully placing and smoothing out your graphic, you can expect a professional finish. Plus, wall graphics are easy to maintain. Unlike with painted murals, you can wipe down your wall mural to clean it without fear of damaging it. And unlike wallpaper, you can easily remove grime without leaving a stain.

6. They’re an Affordable Way to Transform a Space

If you’re looking for a way to truly transform a space, you may consider a renovation. However, you can make a space look brand new by covering the walls in custom graphics. Anyone who visited your building before will be blown away by the transformation. And opting for a wall covering is a more affordable and less invasive option than renovations or major design changes.

For Custom Wall Graphics, SpeedPro Has Your Covered

If you’re ready to transform your walls with custom wall coverings, SpeedPro is here to help. With knowledgeable print shop professionals, the latest print technology and access to a wide range of quality materials, SpeedPro is well-equipped to deliver the very best custom graphics. To get started, find your nearest SpeedPro studio and connect with your local SpeedPro staff.