Installation professional, Tom Earthrowl, shows attendees the tools they could use to simplify the application of interior films
Sign Update editor, Melanie Attlesey, was invited to attend Antalis’ Coala Interior Film Workshop to find out more about this growing market and why sign makers should get involved.
Doors, walls, furniture and more can all be wrapped with an interior film. It’s an untapped market for sign makers and one that is rapidly growing in the UK.
Originating in the Far East, interior films is a multi-million pound market. It follows the increasingly popular concept of refreshing products, rather than replacing them.
At Antalis’ workshop held on Wednesday, November 6, sign makers and vehicle wrappers were introduced to the Coala range of decorative self-adhesive architectural films. At present the range includes over 650 different references, and is only increasing in choice all the time.
The workshop was led by installation professional Tom Earthrowl. He took the attendees through different application and finishing techniques on various flat, curved and cornered surfaces, including an office desk, a wooden door and a kitchen cupboard door.
He demonstrated how friendly the films were to fit. He guided attendees through application best practices to avoid air bubbles, to achieve neat corners and how to make a join in the film appear completely seamless. But most importantly, Tom showed attendees how easy it is to realise an expensive-looking finish with minimal outlay.
Putting knowledge into practice
After a spot of lunch, attendees were able to put their freshly learnt knowledge into practice and have a go at wrapping a kitchen cupboard door for themselves.
Clare Scammell, director of GK’s Graphics attended the day with a ‘tell me everything’ attitude. Commenting on LinkedIn after the event, she said: “I’ve known about interior/ architectural films for a while, but I’ve never really dabbled in them. This could be another feather in my cap.”
She continued: “The day was a great introduction to the interior side of vinyl, but the stand out part? Being in a room with other like-minded people in the industry and realising the support that’s available if I decide to go down this path.”
Tom demonstrates how to achieve a smooth finish around the edge of a desk
A piece of cake
If you’ve got the skills already in place and are familiar with self-adhesive vinyls, adding interior films to your arsenal should be a piece of cake. All that is required to get started is the film, a squeegee and a scalpel, plus a roll of film of course. A heat gun maybe required for getting the film to stretch around corners, but is not required for general application. Other tools can also be purchased to make the application process even easier, but these are not essential.
I couldn’t help myself and decided to try my hand at applying some film to a kitchen cupboard door, but as someone who’s not used to handling a scalpel, my wobbly cut marks left a lot to be desired. This just goes to show you need the skills already in place before deciding to venture into this market.
Quick return on investment
Not only are the initial start-up costs quite low, but the return on investment is quite quick. For example, to wrap a typical office door with a glass vision panel you could quite easily charge a couple of hundred pounds, and with the help of a second installer it is possible to wrap up to 10 doors in a day.
If the client chose to replace those doors, rather than refresh, they could be looking at nearer a thousand pounds for a new door.
Not only does wrapping the doors save the client money, but it also prevents perfectly good, but tired looking doors from just being thrown away and discarded. It’s a win win situation. It’s easy to see why interior film is gaining traction when sustainability and being environmentally-responsible are such hot topics right now.
Why make the move?
During my time at the workshop, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Collins, Antalis’ product manager, to find out more about why sign makers should make the move into interior films.
One of the first questions I asked was what the aim of the workshop was, to which he replied: “One of the things we tried to impress upon attendees was for them to realise exactly how long a job will take them to do. There are always two things to consider; the cost of materials and the complexity of a job. The biggest expense is always time. No two doors or desks are the same.”
As already mentioned, one of the biggest messages surrounding interior films is sustainability and the concept of refresh rather than replace. Mike was keen to stress this point: “When I first found out about these materials my eyes lit up. It was genuinely like a light bulb moment. The refresh rather than replace ethos is second nature in the Far East and is only going to increase in popularity in the UK and Europe.”
Attendees got to try applying some interior film to a kitchen cupboard door
Mike was pleased with the response from attendees: “There was plenty of engagement and the fact that everybody was getting involved was fantastic. The general impression was that everyone enjoyed themselves and everyone got something out of the workshop. Even those who are already quite well-versed in the subject, if they can take one or two things away that they can apply that will save them a few minutes per job, then it’s a good day out.” He continued: “Now we’ve got a blueprint for something that works and we know there is a demand for these types of workshops, we plan to run more in the new year.”
Every sign maker wants to be busy and in the same token wants to diversify their business, and adding interior films to your offering is one way to do this. Who doesn’t want to get ahead of the curve and tap into a growth market?
So, the next time you quote for some signage for a hotel, a care home, a school, maybe ask them if they have ever considered refreshing their doors or desks. You never know where this question might lead. Interior films are the perfect way to upsell and gain more business.
