Paper It Fun! with Paper Illusions Wallpaper

Paper It Fun!
Discover all that can be done with PaperIllusion

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You Have Found the Original Paper Illusions Wallpaper
By Village
Paper Illusions by Village Mini-Rolls->| |Paper Illusions by Village-85 Square Feet Rolls->
Some Straight Talk on Paper Illusions

You may be among the many Paper Illusions enthusiasts that are wondering just what in the world is going on lately. This article is written to bring you up to speed on the latest developments in the Paper Illusions product line.

First, a brief bit of history on Paper Illusions. The first license holder for the product was FSC, the former home decor industry giant based in the US. This company was perhaps best known for Waverly Home Fashions and exclusive lines such as Schumacher. This company also owned Village. Paper Illusions was originally sold under this name. Many patterns still persist under the Village name but are quickly becoming obsolete. These include the 85 square foot boxes sold at Lowes and Home Depot. QVC sold these patterns as well a little earlier in history. A few years ago, FSC folded up the majority of its operations. It quietly sold its Village license to another industry giant, Blue Mountain Wallcoverings. BMW may be familiar through its numerous wallpaper lines, such as Sanitas, Imperial and Sunworthy.

BMW gained the license to sell the Paper Illusions when it purchased Village. All existing inventory was moved to the Nashville warehouse. Shortly after, BMW decided to move all warehousing to Canada along with all production facilities for the Paper Illusions. Up to this point, the product had been made in USA. These original versions are by far superior. The substrate is heavier, the adhesive thicker and the printing richer. These beautiful papers were packaged in both 85 square foot and 100 square foot bolts. If you ever worked with the USA versions of Paper Illusions patterns, you are familiar with the fantastic results. These patterns are what made PaperIllusion by Village such a hit.

The Canadian versions started being produced with varying degrees of success. Many of the pattern names and numbers were carried over. The 85 square foot bolts continued. There were some manufacturing glitches such as trouble with adhesives, printing on the wrong side and mislabeled product. Manufacturing backorders, which began with the warehouse move, continued as manufacturing came on line. As viable products became available it was observed that the substrate was lighter. The printing was reasonably comparable to the earlier USA versions for most of the patterns. The Script Illusions, however, never regained the former glory of the earlier versions. The Roman Illusions versions also did not quite measure up to the originals. Most notably, was a version of the Champagne 5807070. It was a short run and was definitely a flop with very little resemblance to its parent product. This run is non-existent at this point. If you have a pattern that you simply cannot find a match for, you may have this paper. Up until recently, Paper Illusions remained under the Village name.

As of winter 2009, Paper Illusions has now moved under the Imperial line of wallcoverings. The product continues to be produced by Blue Mountain Wallcoverings in Canada. It has changed yet again. The bolt size has been reduced to the industry standard double roll of 56 square feet. The old pattern names and numbers have been dropped. The current offerings include 10 new patterns and 14 remade versions of original top performing patterns. The Hearthstone, Travertine Marble and Florentine Marble patterns are reasonably comparable to the older 85 square foot Canadian versions. The Script and Roman patterns are completely different and a bit of a disappointment even in comparison to the older Canadian versions. Retooling of the names was definitely in order.

The new Imperial Paper Illusions has a few plusses and minuses. The substrate has regained some of its weight. The adhesive feels different but seems to work well. The printing is a completely different sort. The printing now has a glossy sheen and leaves the product with a vinyl wallpaper smell. Those familiar with wallpaper will understand this reference. A definite minus is the now increased cost. The retail pricing has remained mostly constant but the rolls have shrunk by a third. A double roll now costs what a triple roll cost earlier in 2009. The paper definitely feels different in the hand but offers a finished product that is a reasonable approximation of the earlier versions. The new versions are not likely to match up with older versions. Samples should always be ordered for pattern and color comparison.

Paper Illusion by Imperial offers some enticing new choices for decorators of all stripes. The quality issues seem to be a thing of the past. Backorders remain rampant in late 2009. Hopefully BMW will manage to get on top of things going into the New Year. Paper Illusions is still a unique, simple and fun product. I have never met a person that could not install it when they have put their mind to it. If you are new to the product, you will most certainly love it. You will have no idea what you missed in the past. For those of you that have been with the product for more than 5 years, you may share in the loss of a truly beautiful American product. Paper Illusion is good but not as good as it once was. Grab up the USA versions and the 85 square foot Canadian versions while you can. They are going extinct.

DISCLAIMER: The Manufacturer and Licensed Distributor of the Product and Brand Name being offered for sale are the Owners of the Registered Trademarks, Trade Dress and Copyrights in said Product and Trademarks. WallpaperIllusions.com, being an entirely separate company, is not related to or affiliated with the Manufacturer or any of the Licensed Distributors of this PaperIllusion Product and Brand Name offered for sale. Buy Paper Illusions Mini Rolls | Buy Original Paper Illusions by Village