Decorative paper to make furniture.

The development in the  woodworking industry has brought many easiness in furniture manufacturer. There are new techniques, materials and equipments have been discovered to make the process of making furniture can be held easier, faster and cheaper. Decorative paper is one of the materials developed by the woodworking industry to answer the need to make furniture in the inexpensive, fast and simple way. Decorative paper is a sheet of paper that is printed and finished decoratively to make special finish looked. In the furniture manufacturer industries, the decorative paper is widely used to make panels and flat form stuff. The decorative paper panels are used to make furniture with simple, straight models. It is very suitable to make the office furniture or the cabinet that are simple, flat form, knocked down and produced with fully machinery system. There are variety of decorative patterns can be made from paint finish with many colors to the wood finish color or the special finish color such as bronze, silver, millennium, etc.
Decorative paper is available in rolls of paper with various decorative patterns and models. There are are many available in the wood looked finish motif to make furniture. The staining to make the motif is done by printing machine with special ink. The printing process is very similar to the principle of printing to create a newspaper or magazine. But of course it is done with different model and motif patterns. After the printing process and the motif is form, the next process is layering the paper with clear coating as a protective layer. The clear coat is the top coat to form film layer, built the film and form the gloss. All processes from the printing and coating are done by roller machine roller that run continuously, fully controlled and consistently

The coating used  is a special finishing material. The decorative paper is usually used as the last layer on the furniture product without any more finishing process. The finishing layer used must be quite strong, has high resistant to solvents, chemicals, heat and scratches. With the  good gluing, a panel surface should be as strong the finished wood product. The chemical reaction dry coating are used for the coating.  The most coating used are the PU, AC or UV coatings.
In the furniture industry, the decorative paper is then attached on the surface of m.d.f. or particle board to form panels that are used to make furniture. As material to make furniture, the decorative paper has several advantages and could be good choice to make furniture.

 decorative paper in the oak wood motif

the decorative paper with silver finish

The advantages of the decorative paper.

• Stable

Decorative paper is an engineered product which is made at the manufacturer industry. When the product is marketed then it already has passed a certain specification. The process in the industry is a fully controlled process then he can be guaranteed to have the same  properties according with the standard specifications. The decorative paper will have the same and stable properties and character that will make the process for the furniture making can be done easier.

In the furniture factories the decorative paper is attached at the m.d.f. or particle board that are also engineered wood products. Thus, this product will be more stable and controllable. The production process can be controlled and calculated easier then the wood or wood veneers that may have varied properties.

• Neat and compact

Decorative paper has a uniform thickness from one end to the other. It can can be attached using press machine with neat result. It is just a thin sheet that is very flexible, there is no variation of  thickness. Decorative paper is very suitable to make furniture with flat models, simple which requires precise form and size. Decorative paper is an ideal feed for mass production and machinery based process.

• Inexpensive

With the proper setting machines, the decorative paper can produce products with a cheaper at the end cost. Decorative paper can be attached directly on the surface of m.d.f. or particle with appearance and performance like the finish panel. We can make product without have to deal with the finishing process that is complex and costly. With the appropriate process and machinery, the production process can be done faster and cheaper compared with the wood veneer.

decorative finish paper furniture
 

The disadvantages of the decorative paper

Decorative coatings  is different substrate with wood or wood veneer. It will never be able to replace the wooden furniture products. It give the decorative appearance as the wood finished but it is not.  He will still appear as an engineering product without the life and natural looked as the wood.
Decorative paper layer is thin and elastic, he will not be able to handle an uneven surface. This product should be attached at surface with even and smooth. M.D.F. or particle board is the most appropriate media. To make thick panels, then we many need to use a multi-layer of m.d.f, or  particle board. A layer of barecore or laminated wood can be used in the inside part, but the outer side must be the M.D.F. of particle board.
Finishing to the decorative paper is very limited. The application of stain or glaze cannot be done. The finish that can be done is only the coating application to make more film built or to form the gloss.