Digital printing has transformed the flooring industry over the past decade—even longer for categories like tile—redefining what is possible in both design and manufacturing. Once limited to basic visuals and repetitive patterns, today’s digitally printed floors offer next-gen realism, deeper color variation and far greater plank diversity than earlier generations.
As Céline Quervel, managing director, Classen, put it: “Digital printing fundamentally changed what is possible in decorative surfaces.”
So what can today’s LVT and laminate flooring manufacturing achieve that traditional methods could not? In a word: realism. “Traditional printing methods rely on engraved cylinders and repeating patterns, which limits design flexibility and often results in visible repeats across the floor. Digital printing removes those constraints,” Quervel explained.
Eric Ruppert, senior director of product marketing and category management at Engineered Floors, agreed, noting, “Because we use digital files rather than physical print cylinders, we offer 35 unique planks per style. This means a consumer can lay down over 100 square feet of flooring before ever seeing a repeated plank. Compare that to the average film product, which repeats every 15–20 square feet, and you can see why digital printing is the only way to achieve a truly natural, non-mechanical look.”
Those large, non-repeating visuals—combined with color variation—creates much more natural-looking materials than was previously possible. “For flooring, that means we can replicate wood, stone or abstract visuals with a level of authenticity that simply wasn’t achievable before,” Quervel explained.
Benefits to the customer
For the end consumer, digital printing has transformed both the look and availability of today’s flooring. The technology enables highly realistic visuals that closely mimic natural materials—as is the demand today—while also allowing manufacturers to create a far wider range of designs.
What’s more, because patterns are developed digitally rather than through traditional printing cylinders, new visuals can reach the market much faster. It also allows designs to be tested more effectively. “You could use it from the standpoint of early prototype development,” said David Sheehan, CEO, Schattdecor. “Let’s say you come up with a design concept and you want to see if it resonates with the end customer. In this instance you could leverage the digital capability and actually produce product, show finished goods to get customer reactions. So your speed to market is greatly enhanced.”
With that dramatically shortened development cycle is the ability for more experimentation and customization. “Digital printing has given us a lot more creative flexibility, especially when it comes to offering tailored options,” said Leigh Wright, Tarkett’s director of design, LVT. “Digitally printed patterns can be adjusted to match a customer’s specific color selections. We’ve also had customers send us completely custom visuals for their LVT or wall base. It’s also making a huge difference in renovation projects. If you need to match an existing terrazzo trim, for example, we can digitally print Masquerade wall base to look just like that sample. It makes your whole project more sustainable and cost-effective.”
Even more enhanced visuals
While it has been widely used in the ceramics industry for years (see story on page 10), non-ceramic flooring traditionally relied on analog décor techniques. Today, digital printing enables manufacturers of vinyl and laminate to produce unprecedented levels of realism. “Wood, stone or other natural materials can be reproduced with remarkable visual accuracy without compromising on the quality and performance of the overall product,” said Floris Koopmans, sales and marketing director, Unilin Technologies.
These innovations have developed even further of late, providing for what some suppliers call full “sensory experiences.” As a result, digitally printed flooring has moved beyond imitation to become a powerful design tool, helping elevate both performance-driven products and style-forward spaces. “In the last year, the focus has shifted from just ‘printing an image’ to achieving a complete ‘4D experience’ (depth, dimension, durability and design) through the integration of digital embossing and domestic speed,” Ruppert said.
He also noted EF’s Precision Digital Embossing. “We’ve refined the synchronization between the digital print and the texture. Using digital embossing, we build structure on the surface that creates an exact texture match to the wood grain. If you see a knot, you feel a knot—perfectly aligned.”
At Classen, which has been digitally printing for 15-plus years, the most significant developments have taken place in the printing of PP flooring. “Due to the growing demand in the commercial segment, we have seen a need for completely new design directions, which required new machine settings and the development of additional color profiles,” Quervel explained. “To further improve color consistency, production control and automation—and to speed up the sampling and adjustment process—Classen worked last year on a new production support tool called Color Control Pro. This is a system that allows inline adjustments to the print file directly in production, helping operators fine-tune color and design parameters more quickly and reliably. Our goal is not only to use this internally but also to make the solution available to the wider industry and other manufacturers in the future.”
In addition, Classen is expanding its digital ecosystem with the introduction of DLE+, which further enhances its digital design and production capabilities and supports faster, more flexible product development.
Unilin’s Koopmans added that digital printing is also set to play a crucial role in PET-based products, as it provides the solution to produce these flooring products. “As the benefits of digital printing become increasingly clear, more manufacturers and distributors are recognizing its value and embracing this innovation as a future of high-quality flooring production.”
