Run Numbers Matter – More

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!

Pulp Wallpapers – Difficult to Handle

I mentioned in my post of January 27, 2022 that this wallpaper is what we call a classic or traditional British pulp material. All wood pulp and a little ink. No synthetic fibers, no protective coating.

When dry, the stuff is quite stiff and brittle, and when wet it can turn to mush. It dries fast, so sometimes can ” freeze ” and stick together when you unbook it – which can actually tear the paper apart.

This makes it difficult to work with it when going around intricate moldings, or into corners, or any time you need to bend or unfold it.

It’s also tricky to cut. It dulls blades quickly. And even a brand new razor blade can get bogged down or snagged. This can easily tear the paper. Another thing that happens is that you get these little ” buggers ” where the top part of the paper trims off, but little bits of the substrate stay behind.

The photo above shows this happening at a trim cut along a baseboard. You have to gently pull the strip away from the wall, being careful not to crease it or tear it. Then use your scissors to snip off these little bits. It’s a real PITA.

Nails and Even Pins in the Wall – A Cut Hazard

Today I’m stripping old wallpaper off bedroom walls. This involves swiping a wet sponge across the wall surface (to reactivate the old paste and soften it so the wallpaper can be removed easily).

Sometimes homeowners will remove artwork or other hanging items, but forget to take out the nails they were hanging on. Or, if they want to keep the nails in place (so the artwork can be rehung in the same place), they forget to put a sticky note to mark where the nails are.

This can be dangerous, because skinny nails are virtually invisible, and, as I’m wiping my hand across the surface, it’s likely that my hand can be cut when it runs into one of these nails.

In this picture, it’s not a nail but a skinny pin sticking out of the wall – virtually impossible to see!

DON’T CUT UP THE WALLPAPER BOOKS!

Digital Image

Oh boy. The wallpaper store generously let shoppers take this wallpaper selection book home for a few days, and look at how it was returned. “Someone” took a razor and sliced out the sample of blue cork. And another “Someone” didn’t even bother to be neat, but crudely ripped out the most popular colorway sample of Candice Olson’s “Onyx.”

Wallpaper shoppers – DON’T DO THIS. First of all, we know who you are. After all, to check out the book, you filled out a form with your name and contact info. Oh, and that same form had a waiver that you signed, and the first line, in all capital letters, said, DO NOT CUT THE BOOKS. Did I mention that you signed your agreement that you would not cut up the book, and would return it in its original condition?

But beyond that, there is no need to do this. You can easily and very inexpensively order samples of any wallpaper pattern you like, and that sample will be much larger than the puny page you ripped out of the book. It will arrive in just a few days. But even quicker – you can snap a photo of the sample, front and back, and have it immediately.

Did you stop to consider that those wallpaper sample books cost the stores $100+ each? It takes a lot of wallpaper sales to cover employee salaries, facility costs such as air conditioning, phone/Internet, parking lot, etc., and then extras such as a good selection of wallpaper sample books. And if a page is missing, then another shopper will miss the opportunity to see and consider that wallpaper selection.

Please click and read the “Comment” link below,  which is from my favorite wallpaper retailer.  (Click the page on the right entitled “Where to Buy Wallpaper.”