Changing the Face of Wallpaper

Wayne, Pennsyvalnia-based Wallquest, isn’t a new kid on the block. Founded by John Collins in the mid-1980s, the company is a leading provider of wallpaper both here in the United States and worldwide. But while you might think they were content to keep focusing on that business, Wallquest is never one to just rest on its laurels.

In the last few years, notes digital director for the company, Michael Angelisanti, they have begun expanding into more digital print technologies, adding them to its lineup of traditional rotogravure and rotary screen presses to expand its capabilities.

“The main goal of digital printing is flexibility,” says Angelisanti. “We can offer lower minimum quantities, and have more flexibility of color and design. Wallquest wants to be able to offer the same high quality, but in a more compact availability to customers, designers, showrooms, or even anyone who wants to break into the wallcovering industry and present designs to the world.”

After doing its research, Wallquest decided to use HP technology for its digital presses, with Angelisanti noting that the fact that the inks are water-based was a deciding factor. Wallquest, he notes, has a very “eco-conscious mentality” and wanted the company’s digital printing to match the gains it had made in its traditional print processes in that regard.

Credit: Wallquest

To that end, the company purchased two HP Latex 3600 printers at PRINTING United Expo last year and was so impressed that it is currently running eight worldwide, with seven here in the United States. HP, he notes, has been a big supporter of Wallquest from the beginning, and continues to be a strong partner for the company.

In addition to shorter run times and more flexibility, Angelisanti notes another significant benefit to the technology has been the ability to expand the design formats the company can produce, further increasing its product lineup and helping with that goal of staying relevant. To that end, he says that Wallquest isn’t done acquiring presses. Specifically, he believes the company will purchase more HP digital printing presses in the coming year, and he notes, “We are excited to see what else HP has to offer us.”

That said, while he loves the versatility and capabilities digital brings to the table, Angelisanti doesn’t ever see it completely replacing the more traditional techniques. He notes, “I’m a print lover, so I want to say digital will never fully replace traditional printing. There is a quality when it comes to how ink sits on paper that you can get with traditional that you can’t with digital at this time — it’s a tactile sensation that can’t be replaced. As an artist, I want to see those things remain, and I think traditional printing will always be in our repertoire. That said, I do think, in the near future, digital will certainly become a much greater part of the industry.”

So, what’s next? Angelisanti notes that Wallquest will be in Vegas this year for the next PRINTING United Expo as well, as both an attendee and a distributor—which they did last year as well. Wallquest has a robust business serving as a trade printer for shops that want to sell high-quality wallcoverings to their customers without needing to invest in the technology and systems themselves.

Not only do they do trade printing—including coating, laminating, and hot embossing—but they also produce and sell their own media. “We have been printing on this media for many years, so it is time-tested. And now we are offering it to the rest of the industry,” he notes.

Wallquest is the perfect example of how a traditional print company serving a traditional print market can embrace digital technologies while remaining true to who they are. The company is proving that digital can work side-by-side with its traditional offerings, allowing it to expand the number of options it offers to every client who walks through the doors and ensure every customer’s job ends with a beautiful space — no matter how it was printed.