Summary
• Rich, darker tones are more prominent in the market.
• “Recoatable” paper foils allow Decorative Panels to be refinished by the end user.
• Specification of chunkier furniture has led to the development of hollowcore products.
Developments in the decorative panels market have focused on new market trends and demand from customers for woodgrains and darker, chocolatey tones.
Beech and maple foils remain popular choices with high volume users such as the flat-pack furniture sector but darker colours are finding increasing popularity, with customers now calling for species like lula wenge, wallis plum and aida walnut from suppliers.
High-gloss effects are also an important part of the market, with bright, solid unicolours very popular in bedroom and kitchen fascias.
The trend for high-gloss woodgrains is also gaining ground and the current fashion of a woodgrain carcass with a solid colour fascia can now be seen in reverse, with solid colours used as carcass and high-gloss woodgrains as fascia.
Investment
This has demanded investment in new production technology. For instance, Decorative Panels is installing a new £2m Hymmen laminating line at its Elland facility in West Yorkshire for such production. This includes hi-tech cleaning and preparation systems to ensure a perfectly conditioned board prior to the application of “unforgiving” materials such as high-gloss plastics and PVCs.
Combinations of colours and textures is leading the foil finish wood panels market into increasingly artistic fields that are moving in line with modern-day styles and icons, such as the iPod and sleek sports cars.
Finished panels can even be produced with a 3D optical emboss, which uses a combination of matt and gloss surfaces to give the illusion of depth.
A print cylinder follows selected parts of the wood’s grain, adding a silicon/wax coating to certain areas. This provides a protective layer when the final lacquer is applied, causing the lacquer to fall away in these areas and creating a matt on gloss appearance.
Economic climate
These developments are enabling the foil market to maintain a strong position as the economic climate makes for quieter times across the timber trade.
Other credit crunch-busting developments include the advancement of harder-wearing lacquers and finishes, which have overcome questions about paper foils’ durability.
“Ultra” grade finishes require a variation on the finished lacquer applied at the print stage, and pass BS 6222-3 – Domestic kitchen equipment and FIRA 6250 1999 – Domestic and contract furniture – Severe Use. Although a premium product, they offer higher resistance for tougher environments. An example is the dp-ultra range of paper foils, which is designed to be used in demanding areas previously considered unsuitable, such as offices and kitchens. It also allows carcasses to be colour matched to the fascia and mouldings, using the same foil design throughout.
“Recoatable” paper foils, which allow for the application of finishing lacquers that are commonly used on solid and veneered products, are also increasingly available. These are covered with a special version of the two-part AC lacquers that are currently used throughout the industry. Our experience is that when the same finishing lacquers are used as for wood/wood veneers between 30-50% of the amount is needed. The finished product is hard to differentiate from its real wood counterparts.
Such developments are helping to underline paper foils’ advantages over other mediums: advanced production lines able to replicate the look and effect of real wood, coupled with a high degree of accuracy and superb definition.
The furniture market has also seen a growing trend towards thicker products, necessitating a lightweight production solution.
This has seen hollowcore boards become more prevalent, with the dp-lite range typical of this. Dp-lite is manufactured from two 5mm MDF panels sandwiching a honeycomb core, and is available in 22mm, 35mm and 50mm thicknesses. It can be finished with a paper foil or supplied as a raw product for onward veneering.
