Sparking children’s imagination and creativity with print
A world printed with fantasy is a project conceived and implemented by Canon Poland at the Wesołe Małolaty childcare centre in Kraków, Poland, in 2021. Its aim was to decorate one of the rooms in the Kraków facility, to spark the children’s imagination and creativity.
Unique Canon technology
Canon completely transformed the interior of the childcare centre in Kraków. The attractive wallpaper and coverings for the walls and floor were printed on the Colorado 1650 UVgel printer. The furniture was printed on directly, using an Arizona flatbed printer. The daycare centre is a place where activities are constantly taking place, and so all the applications needed to be resistant to stains, damage and scratching, as well as approved for use in environments where children are present.
The great transformation
The Wesołe Małolaty childcare centre is a place full of joy. And, thanks to state-of-the-art technology for printing wallpaper and other interior design elements, the room has now been completely transformed into a friendly, creative environment for the children and staff to enjoy. “We are so happy that Canon chose our centre, and helped us change its appearance,” says Paulina Kisała on behalf of Wesołe Małolaty.
Creating a cosmic environment
It all started with a unique design. Architect Monika Kilińska of MJM design studio wanted to make sure that the interior of the room was unconventional and sparked creativity. Since we are showcasing state-of-the-art solutions, why not transform the room into a truly cosmic environment?
“We wanted to design a creative and inspiring interior that would be fun to spend time in. Thanks to Canon, we were able to create a cosmos for the children. Designers love it when aesthetics can be combined with a lower cost solution,” says Monika Kilińska, MJM design studio, responsible for project preparation.
Finalising designs and printing wallcoverings
The finished designs were first printed as visualisations on a ColorWave 3000 series printer using the patented CrystalPoint technology. It is interesting to note that wallpaper can also be printed successfully on this printer – not many people know this. However, for this project, the ColorWave 3600 plotter was used for its main purpose, namely visualising engineering/construction applications. Thanks to the crisp, high-quality images, it was possible to see what the room would look like after the changes.
Once the final design was ready, ARPI studio got to work. Although the Kraków project is unique in many ways, the technology behind printing interior décor applications is no secret to the ARPI studio, as more and more businesses and homeowners are choosing to decorate their interiors with digitally printed wall and floor coverings. ARPI prints is experienced in digitally printing wallpaper using UVgel technology.
“Vinyl wallpapers printed with UVgel are super strong and scratch-resistant! The material does not heat up or deform, so no misalignment issues occur. These applications are safe to use in public facilities, as well as in private homes, where durability and washability are required,” says Karolina Kuc, Product Manager ARPI GROUP.
A special and fun project
The whole project was definitely all about fun and enjoyment, as Canon employees went through the same production process their customers usually go through. This was both an interesting and useful experience as it helped them understand the processes and requirements of their customers better. It is also worth looking at the technical solutions used to transform the space.
Canon’s entire large format ecosystem was used in this project
Colorado 1650 with UVgel
Used to create wall and floor coverings. It can print in both matte and gloss mode with one type of ink. The new FLXfinish+ technology enables you to combine matte and gloss print in one print. The low printing temperature means that the substrates do not expand, which safeguards both the colour consistency and the alignment of the individual wallpaper panels.
Arizona 1380 GT flatbed
Was used to print directly on to the furniture. For the professional cutting of the materials, the Zünd universal cutting system was used. The Arizona series printers can print on almost any type of flat surface, including plastic, wood, glass and even mirrors. The top of an activities table was placed on the Arizona, which then printed directly on the surface without any trouble.
Canon imaging supplies
The substrates used in the childcare room are high-quality wall and floor covering media available from Canon:
• The floor and climbing wall were printed on IJM684 Indoor and Outdoor Textured Floor Graphics, Matt B1/M1 385 g/m²
• One wall was printed on IJM697 Wall Covering, fine textured, non-woven FR FSC 350 g/m²
• The cloakroom was lined with MPI8726 Avery Wall Film Stone Hi-tack 203 µm.
ColorWave 3000 series
Was used for engineering applications and to produce attractive visualisations during the design phase. Canon also provided a modern Canon PIXMA G3460 printer and lots of interesting materials for creative play, for the children to enjoy. In the free Creative Park app, there is a wide range of templates that can be easily printed and assembled.
There are many ways to be creative with interior decor
The use of print in interior design is growing every year. Printed wallpaper is becoming increasingly popular, decorating both private homes and commercial establishments. Walls, floors and even windows are being decorated with print.
The transformation of the Krakow childcare centre clearly demonstrates the potential of digital print. And it’s really just a short step to transform conventional, bland walls into an interior full of colour and inspiration. All it takes is an idea… supported by modern printing technologies.
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