Competitive Flooring
Competitive Flooring
There are many quality flooring products out in the market from the big guys like Armstrong, Shaw, Mohawk, etc. to several smaller custom companies around the world. Each has a definite place in the market depending on need and price point.
The big manufacturers specialize in producing incredibly high volumes of standard designs. This allows them to leverage huge buying power to provide low cost goods. The downside on these floors is you only get to choose from their designs, sizes and durability.
Some of the smaller companies specialize in custom laminated floors. Floors are often 2 – 4 pieces of material that are all laminated together. The process starts with a waterproof base, next is the foam layer, then your printed image and finally a thin .2 mm - .5 mm wear layer. The total floor ends up with an approximate thickness of 2.5 mm but only the thinnest of wear layers.
Because laminates and machines are limited the maximum width of these floors are typically around 48” – 50” and lengths of around 25’. They are printed and laminated at around 54” raw material and then trimmed down to size. This requires many more seams for installation, patter matching can be a challenge and waste increases. The notable exception for production are the huge companies like Armstrong, Shaw or others that make a flooring in mass.
Lead times tend to be in excess of 4 weeks for these smaller companies to produce your floor even from standard designs. It is a common industry practice to have a design but not stock these goods to maintain the best pricing possible and least amount of waste.
Graphic Image Flooring has the ability to provide a floor that is made up essentially the same though we prefer our clear vinyl.
Typical vinyl products show the image under a very thin, clear wear-layer, with layers of heavy fillers and foam beneath.
- < 10 mil Wear Layer
- Thin Imaged Layer
- Junk or Composite Filler Base
100% solid polyvinyl product. Without heavy fillers and foams, our material is both lightweight and recyclable.
- 75 mil Wear Layer - Thickest in the World!
- Print Directly on to the Bottom of the Vinyl - No Laminates or Junk Filler Layer
- How long vinyl floor will look like new are usually based on the wear-layer’s performance, making this the most critical element of the floor - Vinyl Institution & World Floor Covering Association
- Vinyl can be recycled and reprocessed into second-generation products generating more than 1 billion pounds of vinyl recycled annually
Why Choose Graphic Image Flooring?
Graphic Image Flooring can meet the designs for just about anyone in the world. With the added benefit of using materials that are up to 10’ wide and over 50’ long before any seaming is required your installation can be accomplished faster and with fewer seams.
Most vinyl products show the image under a very thin, clear wear-layer, with layers of heavy fillers and foam beneath. On the surface this may look great, but the use of fragile materials compacted together actually decreases the longevity of the product.
Our Long Term Printed Vinyl Flooring is a 100% solid polyvinyl product. Without heavy fillers and foams, our material is both lightweight and recyclable. Made with the thickest wear-layer in the world, products are guaranteed to outlast and outperform any other polyvinyl product produced by any competitor.