Rapid design and innovation propel us to keep moving forward. Architects and clients are continually pursing the desire to enhance a space, this includes the design and functionality of ceilings. With the increase of new technologies and techniques currently being practiced, designers can achieve their ambitious design aspirations. One of these modern techniques which is growing in popularity is sublimation.
The sublimation process uses heat to transfer different patterns onto materials. Leading designer and manufacturer of metal ceilings, SAS International, has successfully employed this process to create remarkable product finishes for projects including Arndale Shopping Centre in Manchester and Muscat International Airport.
This finish technique enables colours and motifs to be embedded into any substrate to create blemish and chip-free surfaces of any texture and shade. Whether designers require a woodgrain finish to cultivate an ‘organic feel’ or long for a marbled ceiling to give that hint of luxury, sublimation is the perfect solution to craft a ceiling design that is attractive, durable and able to create an ambient environment. Suitable for perforated baffles, to modular tiles and suspended ceilings, sublimation can make any specifiers’ design dreams a firm reality.
THE BEAUTY OF SUBLIMATION
A feature sublimation champions is the ability to produce stunning interior finishes. But as well as creating enviable designs, sublimation can offer much more.
For instance, sublimation can imitate other finishes that tend to be more costly and weightier. Whether it is timber, marble, granite or any other decorative effect, sublimation enables specifiers to achieve a seamless, cost-effective, lightweight finish without compromise to quality or aesthetic. To assure the space maintains its quality, most manufacturers will also offer pre-coat finishes to add that all important durability factor.
Compared to its equivalents sublimated metal products provide better performance, as a result of their durability. Sublimation uses a process whereby the ink becomes part of the material, as opposed to forming a layer which sits on top. It is this which gives sublimation a reputation for producing durable finishes that assure the given product is fashioned to last.
As a result of its durable properties, sublimation can be employed in a variety of different sectors, from commercial offices to high-trafficked infrastructure projects. Being one of the most durable construction materials metal cannot be easily damaged, by using sublimated metal in infrastructure, architects can achieve a strikingly realistic wood-effect finish, while ensuring better acoustic performance and outstanding product life expectancy.
A design process hailed by the design community, sublimation is a sustainable, effective technique able to bring the most ambitious of ceiling designs into existence. So much so, it will go some way to being surpassed.