The floor is the largest surface in any given space, and it determines the entire look of an area—color, style, texture and pattern. Choosing a long-lasting surface, suited for its purpose and style is paramount to buying decisions. LVT fits many buyers’ most pressing needs, giving exceptional value by offering highly scratch and stain resistance with a flooring material that is also 100% waterproof.
The production process, however, is quite complex and time consuming with LVT’s multiple layers and multiple manufacturing stages. The design layer of LVT flooring is traditionally printed by analogue rotogravure print technology - high-speed, industrial printing presses that can produce as much as 93 million square meters per year. Very large print volumes and extremely long runs are needed to make the process viable because rotogravure cylinders and setup are very costly. Plus, setup can take several days to complete. Design possibilities are limited by width, which also defines the pattern repeatability. Additionally, investment in this type of equipment is very high.