Modern developments Wallpaper
Custom wallpaper printing
New digital inkjet printing technologies using ultraviolet (UV) cured inks are being used for custom wallpaper production. Very small runs can be made, even a single wall. Photographs or digital art are output onto blank wallpaper material. Typical installations are corporate lobbies, restaurants, athletic facilities, and home interiors. This gives a designer the ability to give a space the exact look and feel desired.
New types of wallpaper under development or entering the market in the early 21st century include wallpaper that blocks certain mobile phone and WiFi signals, in the interest of privacy. The wallpaper is coated with a silver ink which forms crystals that block outgoing signals.
The Spanish firm Think Big Factory has announced that they are developing a wallpaper which also serves as a computer interface, using projectors, webcams, and motion sensors for control. As of 2013, The hardware was complete but only 20 per cent of the software was finished, according to Think Big Factory.
In 2012, Scientists at the Institute of Solid Construction and Construction Material Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology announced that they had developed a wallpaper that can help keep a masonry wall from failing in an earthquake. The wallpaper uses glass fibre reinforcement in several directions and a special adhesive which forms a strong bond with the masonry when dry.
Wallpaper design as a means of artistic expression
Close-up of a piece of wallpaper art by Tsang Kin-Wah Tsang Kin-Wah, one of Hong Kong's best-known painters,creates large-scale wallpaper installations that evoke the floral designs of William Morris in a style that has become known as word-art installation.
