FAQs

You’ve got your wallpaper but have a lot of questions. We’ve got all the answers.

How should I prepare my wall for wallpaper application?

Is your wall smooth? Wallpaper can only be applied to walls that have been skimmed, primed, and painted. We recommend using an oil-based primer and one coat of washable/ PVA paint if you are starting from scratch.

If you are using wallpaper from Unique Impressions, make sure you use paint that contains zinc oxide. Most do, but Plascon and Dulux washable paints are ideal.

How do I install your wallpaper?

Our wallpaper does not come in rolls like you buy from the local fabric shop. Our standard wallpaper comes in panels, while our seamless wallpaper comes in one long piece. Make sure your installer knows how to install this kind of wallpaper. On standard wallpaper, we provide a 20 mm overlap on all our panels that need to be cut away to create a butt-join to ensure the wallpaper meets perfectly and seamlessly on the same level.

How do I know the measurements of my print is accurate?

We send you a digital layout for approval before we print bulk. You must check these measurements to ensure they are correct. Remember, we add 40 mm of bleed to your measurements as no wall is ever perfectly straight. In addition, you must make sure you are happy with the layout of your design – after all, that’s what you will be seeing on your wall.

What about recesses?

When it comes to windows that are set back, doorways, or other places you want us to fold the wallpaper into, we can only tuck it into the top and bottom OR the left and right. Not both. There isn’t enough wallpaper to do this. And even if there is, you will have to live with a mismatched design in the corners. We recommend one of the following:

a) Choose top/bottom or left/right,

b) Live with the little mismatch in the corners

c) Don’t tuck any wallpaper away, and use beading to frame around the edges of your recess to finish it off              beautifully.

What is beading?

Beading is a piece of edging that comes in either aluminium or wood. When your wallpaper ends on a raw edge of the wall, we strongly suggest placing an edge on it. It protects your wallpaper from people walking past and looks aesthetically pleasing. You can buy aluminium trims at your local hardware or ask a joiner to sort you out with wood ones.

What about installing wallpaper in bathrooms?

Bathrooms can be tricky when it comes to installing wallpaper, especially those pesky taps that we need to bring the wallpaper over. Therefore, we always suggest getting your wall-mounted fixtures taken off before installing, thereby ensuring a faultless installation.

Help! There are bubbles under my wallpaper.

Bubbles after your installation are very common and normal. Do not panic. However, if they have not gone away after 72 hours, give us a call, and we will come and send them on their way.

The seams and edges of my wallpaper are lifting!

Lifting on seams and edges can happen after we’ve left the building. This is common in cold weather and easy to sort out. Call us if this occurs. But before you do, turn off all air conditioners or heating for 48 hours after your installation.

On what surfaces can wallpaper not be applied?

Wallpaper can’t be applied to the following places or surfaces:

• Face brick
• Outdoor walls
• Plastic
• Metal
• Melamine
• Door frames
• Glass

Do I have to remove my old wallpaper?

Yes. We cannot install over old wallpaper. You will need to remove this before installing our wallpaper. If you would like us to remove it, please let us know, and we will quote accordingly.

Why am I charged for more material than I need?

Our seamless wallpaper media is three meters in width. This means that if either of your walls is less than 2.5 meters in width or height, we have to charge you for the media that gets wasted (not printed on). This charge is R100 per square meter.

How is your wallpaper different to other wallpaper?

If you have not used large-format printed or custom printed wallpaper before, it’s essential to know that it is very different from rolls of wallpaper. Rolls of wallpaper have generally been screen printed. Screen printing is very different to UV, latex, dye sublimated, or digital printing, which is what we do. The sharpness you get on screen printing is not possible on large format printing. We make sure that our wallpapers are never pixelated and are crisp as possible, but it isn’t screen printing, and we use a lot of old, vintage lithograph prints in our designs. This means there needs to be an allowance allowed for these designs. We, therefore, suggest that if we run you a sample, you pin it onto your wall and stand slightly back to view it. If we do not run you a sample, please keep this in mind. Instead, request a sample if you are unsure.

How long does it take to create custom-designed wallpaper?

If we create a custom design for you, please note that we charge a fee based on the number of hours it will take us to make the design. The rights to the custom designs remain the property of Unique Impressions. If exclusivity is required, this becomes a commissioned design. The design cost is agreed upon between all parties involved, based on all factors and can become exclusively licenced to the paying client. Please note this is a separate agreement to the standard company policy

Contact Unique Impressions for details

If you have any questions about a specific design or wallpaper installation from Unique Impressions, be sure to get in touch with a representative today.