Products

Technology ups laminate's realism

Monday, September 24, 2018

Advanced décor papers also add to laminate’s visual realism, said Ward of Mohawk.

Laminate’s visuals, performance and texture have come a long way since its advent, and today’s laminate manufacturers are able to produce planks nearly indistinguishable from solid hardwood thanks to new press plates, décor papers and thicker planks.

One of the most important features of realistic wood visuals is a varying repeat pattern, according to Barron Frith, president of CFL Flooring and Atroguard.

“For real wood or stone products, each plank or tile is unique,” Frith said. “So, for laminate and digitally printed products, there is a limited number of different planks within one product and the idea is to develop designs so that once installed, repeats are tough to spot.”

This is technologically easier to achieve with laminate than with vinyl or WPC floors, giving laminate a visual advantage with less repeat patterns, Frith said.

Given that laminate flooring consists of an all-wood construction, it also possesses that warmth and feel of a wood product, said Travis Bass, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Swiss Krono USA.

“The rigidity of the planks – and particularly with the thicker products being made, like 12mm, 14mm and up — the planks feel very much like hardwood flooring planks,” Bass said.

Designers are also able to start with natural wood material and digitally translate the imagery and details to create realistic hardwood visuals. The combination of embossed-in-register surface embossing and high-performance overlays creates the look and feel of real hardwood with better performance and installation attributes, said Joe Amato, vice president of residential styling at Mannington Mills.

“With improved printing, embossing and finishing technologies, laminate visuals are not only indistinguishable from hardwood, but outperform hardwood in areas of scratch and wear resistance, sunlight fading and waterproof advancements,” Amato said.

Many manufacturers are also investing in new press plate technology to give deeper, more accurate texture, said Adam Ward, senior product director, hardwood and laminate at Mohawk.

“(Some new) presses can press deeper and stronger compared with other presses out there today,” Ward said. “That added realism in terms of texture, combined with the brilliant décor papers we get, can set products apart and make them indistinguishable from hardwood.” Bigger presses also mean less visual repeat patterns, Ward added.