Fast and effortless wallpaper offering by Xeikon and Ahlstrom collaboration

Wallpaper has been around for a few centuries. But during the past twenty years, it has undergone an exciting reinvention. Driven by the global hype of “everything can and will be customized”, so-called single-wall solutions have become an interior design must have. Putting up, and removing, wallpaper can be quite an effort prompting consumers to seek professional help. This, of course, increases the cost of the final product: a decorated wall. 

Ahlstrom has overcome a lot of the challenges of applying and removing wallpaper with its a new range of self-adhesive nonwovens. In fact, wallpaper can now be easily swapped, enabling  consumers to confidently fully customise and redecorate walls themselves.

Ahlstrom’s WallStar® Digital Peel & Up range makes decoration quick and effortless, even for a novice home decorator. No glue or special equipment is needed. It’s easy to reposition during installation and also straightforward to remove. The user can simply peel away the wallpaper of the release liner and apply it to the wall. Trouble-free removability enables smooth repositioning or replacement with a different design. No adhesive is left on the wall after removal. The Peel & Up range includes 100% PVC-free satin and matt media.

WallStar® Digital Peel & Up is specifically designed to be printed using a Xeikon digital colour press. The Xeikon wall decoration solution, based on the Xeikon CX500 digital press, uses dry toner technology. The ability to print with five colours  delivers design flexibility. Dry toner print technology stands for superior quality images and complies with all necessary regulations with regard to indoor emissions in the building industry.  

Anna Brikh, Product Manager at Ahlstrom, comments,” As a substrate supplier we are literally in between the print and the consumer. The substrate has to bring those two worlds together, meeting market demands and ensuring the state-of-the-art quality of the end product. With our range of nonwovens for wall decor, we have always been looking to provide printers and consumers with high-quality and easy-to-use materials. We believe that WallStar® Digital Peel & Up is an important step forward to meet the ongoing customisation trends in the decoration markets.”

“Digital print stands for printing whatever you need, whenever you need it”, says Dimitri Van Gaever, Xeikon’s director of segment marketing for the decoration markets, “We are delighted to be the partner of choice in this kind of development by leading industry players like Ahlstrom. We were very keen to test the Peel & Up range on our CX-series for wall deco as soon as possible. We believe it can become a game changer for the wall deco markets.”

Both Ahlstrom and Xeikon will be exhibiting at the upcoming Fespa Global Print Expo 2023, on stand B2 A20, 23-26 May in Munich, Germany.