Many of the historic wallpapers that we sell are printed on vintage
Surface
Print machines, just as these wallpapers were originally
printed.
These amazing machines are somewhat like giant cast iron Ferris
wheels. They can print up to 12 colours at one time in a wet-on-wet
process. Each different colour of the pattern is engraved onto a
metal roller. Each roller is installed on the wheel of the machine
with its own trough of coloured ink. When all of the rollers and
ink troughs are installed, the wallpaper, with its background colour
already applied, is then fed into the machine. As it passes each
design roller, it picks up that part of the design. When it leaves
the machine at the top, the design is completed.
The paper is then suspended in festoons for drying, then rolled
into large rolls for later trimming, coating and cutting into manageable
sized rolls for packaging.
The advantage of surface printing wallpapers is the unique quality
that surface printing can impart on the paper. Surface printing can
provide an almost hand-made appearance to the final design, with
a unique texture and transparency of colours being visible. You can
frequently feel the edges of the design with your fingertips. Tiny
colour bleeds are an inherent quality of Surface printing, and valued
for their appearance.
No one is making Surface Print machines today. Historic Style sells wallpapers printed on machines as old as 1888 up to machines built in 1948. Each machine must be carefully repaired
when they occasionally malfunction, and new bits must be specially
machined, so as to keep these historic machines running in good order.
