Namuri – new and different

Woodland-inspired colours and a deep woodgrain emboss – the new trend in décors to be launched by Plasfoils is already on its way from Korea.

Readers who have been following the décor trends on the Continent will not have failed to notice that, while supermatt finishes are very much in demand, there are signs that some of the major furniture manufacturers are swinging away from gloss levels below five and moving towards semi-matt finishes with gloss levels between 10 and 15. The reason is very simple: supermatt products designed for press applications look and feel amazing, and they are much more resistant to fingerprints than gloss, but in order to be capable of forming around corners they need to have a slightly softer surface than a gloss or a semi-matt foil. If not treated with extreme care and protected with a masking film throughout manufacturing and distribution, a supermatt surface can mark very easily.

With Namuri, the newest product in a range of décor foils from Plasfoils, the problem has been overcome in a way that not only makes their application easier and less prone to marking, it satisfies a demand in the market for a new direction in décor design.

“It’s very difficult to come up with something new for the market,” Chris Green, Business Manager at Ashby-de-la-Zouch-based Plasfoils told me. “People want the same colourways that have been on trend for the last few years – colours they already know sell and they feel safe with, plus the odd new colourway like green, which is a recent addition. We wanted to identify the next thing for the market.

“Designers are always coming up with ideas, introducing different colours, trying to convince the market that some wild shade is going to be the next big hit. We started to look at it from a different angle. Speaking to customers, speaking to specifiers, it seemed to be that everybody wanted to stay with relatively neutral colours but they wanted something a little bit different, something that would make them stand out. So, with this in mind, we went away, did some work on embossing structures and came up with a very deep emboss that gives a two-tone effect; a very realistic painted effect surface. The result is our latest range, Namuri.”

For readers who may not be fluent in Korean, Namu means ‘tree’ (the inspiration for the product finishes) and Uri is a term that embodies the essence of togetherness and community. “Namuri has the same robustness of surface that you get on the slightly higher gloss levels, but it retains some of the visual qualities of the supermatts,” explained Chris. “The reason is because the troughs in the emboss hold the supermatt and the peaks are in a slightly higher gloss level. The softer supermatt surface is better protected in the troughs because you can’t get to damage it. It’s ticking the boxes in terms of robustness and quality of surface and it’s ticking the boxes in terms of the trends we’re seeing in the market and the direction the market wants to go.”

Namuri isn’t a printed product, although it has a distinctly two-tone effect that can be seen from some distance away. It is a simple but very cleverly produced PVC that’s been deeply embossed with a woodgrain design so it retains the depth and feel of a painted wood product even when pressed. The interplay of matt and semi-matt add a further visual effect of depth to the already deep emboss.

“What makes Namuri different is when you are on the other side of the room, you can tell there’s something slightly different about the surface. It’s not a flat surface. That’s the first thing. The second is it’s a very realistic painted surface, even on a pressed door. When people in the industry have had these samples and taken them home to show wives and partners, they believe them to be wood.

“It’s an incredibly realistic product made with the latest cutting-edge technology. The design of the embossing roller means Namuri far exceeds other products currently in the UK that have embossed structures, and there are some quite heavily embossed structures out there. They just look incredibly dated when you put them alongside Namuri. There’s no comparison. That’s the feedback we’re getting from everyone that we’ve sent samples to.

There’s a lot of interest in the market.

“There are two thicknesses: one that’s been specifically designed for Decorative Panels Lamination to apply to boards that would also work for profile wrapping, or for customers who want to wrap the end rails of five-piece doors; and a pressed range, which we’re making more generally available. The standard material is 0.5mm and it’s 1450mm wide. This can be used for all 3D pressing processes, including tight radii.”

For the initial launch, there will be six colours, including a black. All names relate to the forest: Reed Green, Noble Fir, Grey Spruce, Blossom Mist, Frost White and Black Forest. Material is available for press trials.

Once the product range is fully stocked, it will be available for delivery within a couple of days of order. When I interviewed Chris in mid-November, two containers were already on the water and the first of those, which includes five of the colours, was expected to be in stock by 23rd of December. “The second container will be here in the first week of January and that will contain six colourways in the press material. Within the next couple of weeks we should receive more colour samples. Once we get those, if we’re happy with the colours and the effects, we’ll place orders for arrival around mid-March and they will take the press range up to 14 colours. Coordinating board colours will already be available in the rest of the range by the end of the quarter. All of the colours we’re bringing in have a readily available, coordinating supermatt finish if people want to mix and match.”

For more information, call Plasfoils on 01560 449769 or visit plasfoils.com/