Wallpaper Symbols

The following Symbols can be found in your wallpaper pattern book or on product labels on your rolls of wallpaper. Use this guide to help you identify the various characteristics of the roll to ensure the best possible results.

	Spongeable Either printed with water-fast colours or thinly coated with PVA. Paste on the surface can be safely removed by gentle use of a damp sponge.
	Washable As spongeable but with more protection. Will withstand more wiping after light soiling.
	Super Washable As spongeable but well protected with PVA. Suitable for wet areas such as bathrooms or kitchens.
	Scrubbable Normally only applies to vinyl wallcoverings used in areas with heavy water.
	Good Light Fastness This means the wallcovering should retain its original colour for a considerable amount of time, but can't be guaranteed on any permanent basis.
	Moderate Light Fastness Beware!! This product may well fade or discolour in areas of direct sunlight.
	Adhesive to Wallcovering This product needs to be pasted as this is not ready pasted or a paste-the-wall product.
	Ready Pasted To be hung by immersion in clean water according to instructions
	Paste The Wall Applicable to Novamura, some textiles and some wide width wallcoverings. Always check the type of adhesive and the method of application.
	Strippable Should peel cleanly from the wall in a dry state.
	Wet Removeable This will not dry peel.
	Overlap & Double Cut Where edges cannot (or should not) be butt-joined in the usual way, they are lapped and the two thicknesses are sliced through, usually with a straight edge and knife. The subsequent two strips of waste are pulled away leaving two edges stuck down as a perfect butt-joint. Often applies to contrac materials and thicker wallcoverings
	Peelable The top skin of the decoration should peel cleanly away, leaving the backing (if still secure) ready for further decoration.
	Offset Match This is sometimes called a half-drop. The match is obtained by halving the repeat.
	Straight Match The pattern matches straight across the width.
	Free Match No matching required, lengths can be cut straight from the roll without wastage.
	Design Repeat Distance Offset The circumstance of the printed rolls, half of which represents the wallcovering drop (where applicable). This is very important information for calculating the number of lengths available to a roll and this will give you the total quantity you need.
	Direction of Hanging This can be found (but rarely) on the shelvedge of wallcoverings that have been untrimmed or it may be on the reverse of some products. In other respects, on a label it will mean do not reverse the lengths.
	Reverse Alternative Layout Mostly applicable to plain effects and necessary to minimise the risk of side to side shading.
	Co-ordinated Fabric Available This does not necessarily mean a matching fabric and even when your design is the same, your colours may often vary because of some different techniques in printing.
	Easy Paper Means the paper is pre-pasted, scrubbable and peelable. Also provides you longer time to manipulate the paper for pattern matching. Available on most of the Vision Products.