One of the leading decor printers in the world is the Interprint Group. Its myriad of styles can be seen decorating the surfaces of numerous materials made from derived timber products, including living room, kitchen and bathroom furniture and laminate flooring. It can also be seen in the interior furnishing of trains, shops, aeroplanes and in the automotive industry.
Headquartered in Arnsberg, Germany, where the company was founded in 1969, Interprint has seven locations with its own production facilities, sales and service departments plus an additional sales and service office in Italy. The company is also represented on all continents by sales agencies and has in total some 830 employees.
Interprint is wholly owned by the Arnsberg family-managed company Wrede Industrieholding, which has more than 125 years experience in derived timber products. Interprint prints on a total of 23 production machines with an overall capacity of 109,000 tonnes.
The Arnsberg location has recently been awarded the “Highly Protected Riskrating by the property insurer FM Global. The worldwide property and business-interruption insurer grants the HPR award only to those locations that, by means of concrete measures, have minimised the probability of occurrence, and the extent of potential damage, in the best possible form.
After Interprint USA, Interprint in Germany is the second location to have achieved the HPR status. Now, the remaining Interprint production facilities are to follow.
Gerhard Hochstein, chief technology officer at Interprint said: “At Interprint effective risk management is practiced every day. This includes organisational and technical measures which either already existed or have been worked out in close cooperation with the FM Global engineers”.
Since the beginning of 2006 the company has had an in-house engraving centre equipped with both a conventional system for electromechanical engraving and a direct laser system, making Interprint the first decorative paper printer with in-house laser engraving capabilities. Laser engraving allows precise printing and an even faster decor development, says Interprint.
Another development is in the area of mother-of-pearl and metal effects which have increasingly been used in furniture design. Because the process can sometimes present problems with production flow, Interprint sought to solve this by seeing what their research and development department could come up with.
The result is Pearl Perfect, which optimises resin flow behaviour during pressing. Typical blemishes like cloudy, spotty surfaces and pressing or condensation stripes are either minimised or avoided altogether with conventional production methods, says Interprint.
Printed decors aim to be exact reproductions of wood, stones and creative design which can hardly be distinguished from the original material. Decor paper and foils from Interprint are the central decorative element for surfaces such as derived timber products, for which there are unlimited design options.
Everyday, inhouse and external designers dedicate their creativity to new decor
developments which reach Interprint’s customers via the company’s international distribution network.
Elisabeth Zenker, Interprint’s international design director, says: “Communication does not have any national boundaries at Interprint – our thoughts and actions are international. We work with design professionals around the world. This creative pool is very rich in ideas and visions for new decors. We can choose the best designs from that variety and turn them into successful products for the customer”.
Hardly any other colour is as effective as white, says Interprint, which is why furniture design currently presents itself in this refreshing colour. The new Interprint collection shows how this colour trend can be transferred on to wood. From almost pure white to beige shades, to nuances of honey, the decors on fronts and surfaces tend to be rather light. Even striking woods such as core beech and hazelnut are giving off more lightness than before.
Classic oak is exceptionally versatile and is compatible with lots of different trends. Interprint’s Banstead Oak, for example, is rich in contrast without producing an
impression of restlessness. From light beige to honey-coloured, the new Interprint pattern unfolds a beautiful play of colours, says the company.
Another variant in the oak spectrum is Salina Oak with narrow flower shapes, slight reflection and a balanced plan effect.
White Wash Wood is a striped, brushed pinewood that has been given a chalk effect. On furniture surfaces, the decor is said to show clear pores and high colour quality.
Also following the trend towards light colours is the new maple pattern Samira Maple. Overall, it looks restrained due to the filigree grain and fine pores but the sophistication lies in the detail of cut-in flowers and the dark beginnings of branches.
Two-dimensional core parts that flow into classic beech structures characterise Rosemoor Beech. This combination produces an harmonious impression that is not too
strongly dominated by core parts.
The hazelnut decor Clifton Walnut is predestined for high quality modern furniture construction, with its natural brilliance of colour arising through an alternation of light and medium hazelnut shades.
A variety of stone elements come together in Botticino to form a structure that is reminiscent of the design of the 60s. The grains and stones embedded in a fine chalk are between two millimetres and five centimetres in size. Botticino is said to be particularly well suited to pepping-up worktops.
Coobers Cube is a name that reminds one of the opal city of Coober Pedy in Australia, but it is glass bricks, not precious stones from the outback, that give this Interprint decor its glamorous appearance. Refraction and changing colours produce an interesting mosaic-like structure. Coobers Cube gives a creative, new look at structures
and epitomises the ‘Go closer!’ aspect of the Interprint design philosophy, says the company.
‘Go closer! Discover a new dimension of design!’ was Interprint’s show motto at the ZOW 2008 furniture components trade fair exhibition held in Bad Salzuflen, Germany earlier this year. The wording of the motto extended across an entire wall. Facing this was an 18m-long row of black tables divided by high decor presentation drawers printed with photos. The photo motifs consisted of strongly coloured close-ups of abstract and concrete structures from daily life that inspire Interprint’s new decors which, consequently, could be pulled out of the drawers.
Visitors were impressed with the stand concept and the exciting new decors, said Interprint’s sales and marketing director, Holger Dzeia: “Our participation at ZOW was a great success. We were very satisfied with the response produced by our presentation concept and our new decors. Interprint concentrated on its design competence and it was that which attracted many visitors.
