A guide to buying custom printed decor by Dave Nemeth



In the age of customization that we are currently living in it is possibly to break out of the mold with almost any decor or furniture item by having it custom made. One of the fastest and widespread methods of customization is through the printing process. With technological advances, it is now possible to print on almost any material, from glass splash-backs in kitchens, through to scatter cushions and even entire doors. Whilst the process seems simple there are quite a few things to bear in mind in order to achieve the desired result.



The first thing to bear in mind is that the colour will vary depending on the surface on which it will be printed. A good example of this is the visual difference of a colour printed onto a high gloss glass surface versus the exact image printed onto a textured fabric surface. It is not so much the actual colour that is difference but the appearance based on reflection and therefore similar to a traditional photo where there was a visual variation in matt finish vs gloss finish.





The next step where the majority of people go wrong is in the actual image selection, there has to be a Hi-resolution image of 300 DPI (dots per inch). Pulling an image of the internet will generally result in a blurred, pixelated disaster when blown up and printed. This means that even family pictures and holiday snaps will have certain limitations based on the kind of camera or phone they were taken with vs the size the image is to be printed. The best bet is to ask the service provider to give you the exact dimensions needed for the print, so that you are sure beforehand that you will receive a quality product. You will always need to check the copy write on images and generally the safest route will be to buy the images off a stock photography site, if they aren't your original images.




Lastly, if you are printing onto glass or Perspex, make sure you specify whether you want the image to be printed in a translucent state or as a solid coloured image. Both methods especially as artwork are exceptionally popular, yet both have an extremely different visual appeal. It is no longer a "One size fits all" world so experiment, be bold and be original.




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