There were eight double roll bolts of this wallpaper , to cover a large powder room in Houston. Four were rolled so the pattern came off the top of the roll, and four were rolled the opposite way, with the bottom coming off first. This Katie Kime brand is custom-printed , so you can assume that all these rolls are from the same run , or batch . But maybe not - why are some forward and some backward ? Possibly the company substituted some returned goods, or some old stock they had sitting around the warehouse, for half of this order. I didn't want to risk putting strips of slightly different shades on the same wall. So I had to carefully plot the room so I used the "forward" rolls on some walls, and the "backward" rolls on the others. This does eat up additional paper , so good thing I always have the homeowner purchase a little extra. Also note the crease in the roll on the right. There were a few other creases in other rolls.
I have no idea what happened to the font in the section above, nor do I know how to get it back to the original. All I know is that I HATE this “New Editor” that WordPress foisted on us a few years ago. Perfectly HORRIBLE. And their Customer Service doesn’t care. Anyway … moving on … Note the horizontal smudge next to the top of the capitol. Since this Austin Toile pattern has a 25″ pattern repeat, discarding this piece ate up minimum of 2′ of material (x 24″ width = 4 square feet) and potentially more, to get the correct pattern match. Usually this brand prints on a nice non-woven / paste the wall substrate. But, like other manufacturers, Katie Kime has had supply issues obtaining raw materials . During the height of the Pandemic , they resorted to printing on some positively awful stuff. Extremely heavy , thick , un- pliable , stretched to the extent that the pattern wouldn’t match properly, and more. One was completely un-hangable and had to be sent back. I can’t find all my posts re those challenges, but here is one: https://wallpaperlady.wordpress.com/2021/07/21/katie-kime-tough-install-today-draft-messed-up-delete/ But they’ve since gone back to printing on their usual stock, and I’ve not had problems lately. So when I first picked up this box of 8 double roll bolts, I was surprised at the weight of it. Also the paper had a shiny surface and was obviously composed of vinyl . I couldn’t tell if the substrate was non-woven or paper . I feared they had gone back to printing on that bad material , or perhaps were using up what they had in the back of the warehouse . There were no instructions included, nor any information at all – not even a brand name! Although I could find instructions on-line, you can’t be sure these are current and applicable to the rolls in the box. KK has amazingly good customer service , and you can usually get intelligent answers via phone or on-line chat … but my call to them went to voice mail , and then we got disconnected, so I gave up. After hanging the first few strips, I figured out that this was a flexible vinyl on a non-woven substrate, so that part was good. However, the thickness of the material interfered with getting good, tight, flat seams , as you can see somewhat in the photo. The seams aren’t horrible, but a better non-woven without the vinyl usually produces almost invisible seams. The surface was shinier than usual. Shiny tends to show every imperfection in the wall underneath. Here the thickness was a bit of a help, as it helped cushion any slight dips or pimples on the wall. There was also an odd orange discoloration about 1.5″ long on the edge of one strip. Very faint, but I could see it, and sometimes these things end up catching your eye. I also worry that it might be some substance that will bleed into the paper and cause a larger stain over time. Of course, this popped up after I had hung a very difficult piece in a tight spot, and then hung the subsequent strip. In other words – no way was I taking it off the wall and re-doing. I cut out a design motif and pasted it over the area. Another thing I was unhappy with has happened a number of times with KK paper. The pattern will match perfectly at the top of the wall, but begin to slide up or down, creating a mis-match , as you move down the wall. I think that a lot of it has to do with the vinyl material, because it’s stretchy. The weight of the paste and the vinyl will cause the bottom section of the strip to sag. This simply doesn’t make sense, though, because, if the paper is going to absorb moisture from the paste and expand (which many papers do), each strip should do so at the same rate, right? But not. I finally deduced, correctly or not, that the pattern gets distorted as it’s wound into a roll. So my theory is that if you take your 10′ strips from the same position in each roll, the pattern should match. In other words, take a 10′ strip from the top of roll #1. Take your next strip from a brand new roll #2. Third strip from roll #3. Obviously, this leaves a whole lot of unused paper. For shorter areas like over doors, where it’s harder to see, and where you can fudge the pattern a bit, I used the paper from the insides of the rolls, again, roll #1 next to roll #2, etc. But this doesn’t work on every instance, so you’re gonna be stuck with many areas where the pattern doesn’t match perfectly across the seams. The solution is to match the pattern at eye-level , and then allow it to go off as it moves toward the ceiling and floor. There were other issues with this paper that were disappointing to me. But not overwhelmingly awful. Most homeowners would not notice. But I sure hope that this was a one-time issue, and Katie Kime will go back to its former good-quality, non-woven material.
See the difference in color between the tile square in the bottom left and the others?Look closely, and you’ll see that the tile above it is also slightly darker than the tile to its right. These tiles obviously came from a different run , or batch . Just like wallpaper , tiles that are made at the same time with one batch of pigments will be ever so slightly different in shade from tiles made from another batch or run. That’s why it’s important to check the run number on the label , so only tiles (or wallpaper !) from the same run are used next to one another.
Always check the Run number before starting your project. Also called Batch or Dye Lot. Wallpaper that is printed at the same time will marked with a Run number. The next time the factory mixes up a pot of ink and prints wallpaper, it’s likely that there will be a slight shade difference between the two batches. If strips from these two different runs are placed next to each other on the wall, you will see a slight striped effect, a difference in color or depth between the two strips. It may be minor, but it’s noticeable and unpleasant. You can use two different runs in the same room – but not on the same wall. You can “break” the run in a corner, and use one run on one wall and the other run on the other wall. You won’t notice the color difference this way. But it does eat up additional paper. To avoid ending up with two different runs, first of all, always buy from a reputable company dedicated to selling wallpaper – not an outfit that also sells boots, hubcaps, cold medicine, and whatnot. Second, check the Run number as soon as you receive your material. That way you’ll have time to return it or otherwise resolve the issue, before install day.
It’s important that all your wallpaper rolls have the same run number , also called batch or dye lot . This means that they were printed at the same time with the same ink . Paper printed later with another batch of ink may be every so slightly different in color / shade . Looks bad on the wall. The same thing can happen with trimming at the factory. Different runs can be trimmed differently from each other. With this paper that I hung in a dining room last week (see previous post), the labels on all the rolls / bolts listed the same run number . But there was one bolt that was wrapped in not one, but two plastic wrappers. This raised an alarm in my head, because this indicates that it may have been a roll sent back to the factory, for whatever reason, and then repackaged. When this happens, you cannot be absolutely sure that the run number is actually that which is printed on the label. Somebody at the factory could have just grabbed a handy label and stuck it inside the wrapper. I tried not to use this double-wrapped bolt of wallpaper. But on the last section of wall, I got to a point where I just needed to use it, for just two 6′ strips. I was pleased that the color of both the background and the motifs matched perfectly. But not happy with this pattern mis-match. It was easy to see that the factory trimmers had been placed about 1/8″ to one side, from where they had been placed when trimming the previous rolls. It’s a busy pattern, and, from a distance, this undercut wasn’t all that noticeable. But on the other side, there was repetition of the motif , and this will really catch your eye. Happily, this only affected one seam, and since it was a very busy pattern, from just a few feet away you couldn’t notice it. Still, it bothered me. So I pulled this strip on the left off the wall, laid it on my table, and used my straightedge and razor blade to trim off that repetitive leaf tip – about 1/8″ from the right edge of the strip. The second strip, since it came off the same roll and had been trimmed the same, matched perfectly . This was also my last strip, so no more drama with mis-matched designs at the seams . What the overall pattern looks like. The pattern is by Rifle Paper , which has been finding its way into a lot of homes lately. This brand is usually a good quality non-woven material , and can be hung by pasting the paper or by paste the wall . It is designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece, and with minimal damage to the wall , when you’re ready to redecorate . Very cute , cheerful patterns , and good price-point . Note that the run number is printed on the label. installer houston
See the difference between the motifs on these two different strips of wallpaper ? The ones on the top are crisper and more distinct , with more space between the black lines. The motifs on the bottom have heavier black lines and appear a bit smudged . Not a huge difference , but on the wall , especially from a distance , your eye would catch this. Interestingly enough, all these rolls were from the same batch / run number (all printed at the same time with the same ink and printing press ). In fact, one roll started out “normal” and progressively got darker . It probably would have looked OK to use this darker paper, especially since this was a powder room and you couldn’t step back far enough to see a number of strips next to each other. But we had enough wallpaper that I could put these aside and use fresh strips with crisp ink to finish the room. A good reason to always buy a little extra wallpaper ! The pattern is Les Touches and is by Brunschwig & Fils .
The homeowner accidentally ordered half as much wallpaper as was needed, so more was ordered. Unfortunately, we were not able to get the same run number (also called batch number or dye lot ).
Wallpaper bolts printed at the same time will all have the same run number. Then the next time the manufacture prints this material, he’ll mix up a new batch of ink. This new ink will almost assuredly be a teeny slight difference in shade .
You can’t put wallpaper strips from different runs next to each other on the same wall; you will see this slight color difference and the wall will have a subtle yet unpleasing striped effect.
You can, however, use different runs on different walls, “breaking” the run in a corner. You won’t notice the color difference because light hits different walls differently and causes a natural color difference.
This trick works, but it does require extra wallpaper.
Moral of the story:
~Always confirm how much paper is needed with the installer before ordering.
~Always buy a more than you think you’ll need; one extra double roll / bolt at minimum.
When you hang wallpaper, you need to make sure that all the rolls / bolts are from the same Run Number / Batch Number / Dye Lot. This means that the rolls were printed at the same time from the same batch of ink. Another batch of ink that’s mixed up and then printed a few weeks later may be a very slightly different shade. You can easily see that color difference in this photo. Placing strips from two different runs next to each other on the same wall will result in a subtle but unpleasant striped effect. Besides the color differences of the ink, the printing press can be positioned differently, too. Look at the bottom strip, at the left of the photo. The vertical line on the left is wide. But now look at the strip on the right, which is on top. It’s from a different Run. Here the vertical strips is narrow. If strips of wallpaper from these two different runs were placed next to each other on a wall, not only would you see a color difference between them, but you would have an unpleasant striped effect, because one vertical stripe element in the design would be unnaturally wide, and another would be much narrower. In between would be other stripes that are the standard medium width. Very un-uniform and very un-pleasing. Before any wallpaper rolls get cut, pasted, and stuck to the wall, check to be sure the run numbers are all the same!
Continuation from yesterday’s post … the adjoining mud room got the same wallpaper pattern.This room was done with a different run / batch number from yesterday, and the pattern match was better at the seams. See yesterday’s photo.There were, however, some very faint lines running through some of the material. I’ve had this same thing happen recently with other York papers. Very disappointing. Today’s lines were pretty faint, and I went ahead and hung the paper. This paper is by Caitlin Wilson and is in the Sure Strip line by York . It’s a pre-pasted material and very nice … one of my favorite brands.
Ink smudge. One of many printing defects throughout all the rolls of wallpaperReplacement paper came in the same run number as defective paper. Not good.Despite the label, the replacement paper (on the right) must surely be a different run. Note the pattern mis-match, as well as color discrepancy between the two strips. The motifs on the left are lighter and yellower than those on the right.
When I originally set out to hang this Anderson Prints wallpaper in a northwest Houston powder room, there were too many printing defects to be acceptable. The homeowner had the store send it back, and we requested that the replacement paper be from a different run (printed at a different time and with a different batch of ink), to ensure that the new paper would be defect-free.
The replacement paper arrived with the label stating the same run number – Run 2. But I have to question that. I think they stuck the wrong labels on the new rolls.
For one thing, notice the pattern mis-match, between the original rolls (left) and the new paper (right). This indicates that the trimming rollers were set at different points in the design – and that can only happen when the presses are set up to print off a new batch / run of wallpaper. (I’m tossing in an educated guess on that one … Another scenario could be that the trimming wheels got wobbly and rolled out of “true.”)
Either way, these two bolts of paper were not printed and trimmed at the same time.
You will also notice a pretty obvious color difference between the original paper (left) and the replacement (right).
Again, it’s pretty certain that these rolls were not printed at the same time from the same batch of ink.
Re my previous post, before I visited, the homeowner had purchased 8 rolls (4 double roll bolts) of paper. This was just exactly enough (12 strips) for the headboard wall, but I told him to order 16 more to do the rest of the room. The new paper came in a different run. So we had Run 16 for the headboard accent wall, and Run 17 for the other walls.
(You can’t mix runs on the same wall, because different runs, printed at different times with different batches of ink, will be slightly different shades. This very slight color difference will show up on the wall as a striped or “paneled” effect.)
The wallpaper is by York. It is a non-woven material, comprised of synthetic fibers rather than wood and cotton. The synthetic material does not expand when wet with paste, which means the wallpaper can be hung via the paste-the-wall method, with no “booking” or “soaking” wait time needed.
Interestingly enough, Run 16 behaved differently from Run 17. I hung the accent wall with Run 16 quite successfully using the paste-the-wall method.
But when I started the next wall using Run 17, bubbles and wrinkles developed. The paper was absorbing moisture from the paste and expanding on the wall, creating the small bubbles. Quite unexpected with a non-woven material.
The solution was to paste the back of the wallpaper, rather than the wall. This allows the material to absorb moisture and expand a tad before you get it to the wall, so it will behave itself once it is on that wall.
Unlike a traditional paper, this non-woven material did not need a lot of time to absorb moisture, but could be pasted and hung immediately. This greatly speeds up the installation process.
Pasting the paper has an additional advantage in that it renders the material more supple and pliable, which makes it much easier to work around corners or manipulate into position in tricky areas.
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