Building walls used to exist for the most basic reason -- to support building roofs and ceilings. Today, the ordinary wall goes beyond this basic function to a multi-tasking role of many benefits.

Walls act as effective insulators to protect buildings against the elements. They house the building's electrical and plumbing system components. Within the building interiors, walls define the building's layout. They come in a wide range of styles that provide artistic and architectural support at the same time. They also serve as art canvasses in attractive commercial wallcoverings and finishings.

Some examples of cutting edge applications in commercial wallcoverings include the following:

1. Photo Murals

Wall murals of blown-up photographic images represent one of the most innovative turns that the technology on commercial wallcoverings has taken. The Kenosha Civil War Museum in Wisconsin was recently refurbished by the National Guild of Professional Paperhanger with stunning effect. Sixty-one photo murals depicting events and faces from the Civil War became a tribute to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and became part of history.

The technical aspect of the commercial wallcoverings project was daunting. The murals were of varied 18x40 feet and 18x3 feet sizes. The sections were installed immediately after arrival using scissor lifts and scaffoldings. They had to be installed carefully and quickly, before any decorative features can be built. Relief cuts conformed the murals to the museum’s architectural features and in locations such as the building's connecting areas, making the task even more challenging.

2. Digital Wallcoverings

Digitization has reached the commercial wallcoverings industry, involving the use of art works and paintings which are computer-scanned and color-corrected. The dimensions are hugely-sized to fit wall areas as panels. In a process similar to solving a jigsaw puzzle, the panels are sized carefully, undergo production and shipped to the location and installed one by one.

The success of digital commercial wallcoverings applications rest first in the expertise of digital printers, who specialize in digital wallcoverings. They take advantage of printing technology like UV printing, and ink and coatings advances that offer better options, techniques and prices for digital printing. The second success factor is, of course, the wallcoverings contractors who have the skills in implementing large-scale digital wallcoverings projects.

3. Wood Veneers

Natural trees can be used as materials for wallcoverings that evoke a pleasing and muted elegance. Wood veneer commercial wallcoverings are a perfect fit for environmentally-conscious facilities that are not into synthetic coatings. Wood veneers come from shaving wood to produce 1/8th-inch thick panels. The panels involve only a small amount of wood to produce, and many wood panel producers are carefully-managed sources that replenish the forest supply constantly.

Wood veneer panel installation is challenging because the wall features can vary. They can wrap on door jams or cut around pipes and ducts. The wood veneer seams should blend in carefully to conceal the boundaries, and the surface wood grain should continue from one panel to another. Commercial wallcoverings contractors solve this by sanding wood panels into a template with a seamless finish.

Wallcoverings are not ordinary wallcoverings anymore. Facilities are awash in new wall features and technology. But as commercial facilities open up to more non-traditional and innovative solutions, the criteria of quality, cost benefits and performance should still remain.