The Coil Coatings division of Sherwin-Williams has released a collection of printed metal coatings colorways, Emulate, for product and design professionals. The collection derives inspiration from mimicking the beauty of nature and aims to bring an enhanced look of natural building materials in wood, stone and metal to enable architects and product manufacturers to complete their vision in a new way.

A collection highlighting new prints and a fresh take on classic looks, Emulate allows for unlimited possibilities by using a solid base coat and layers of ink that can be created with unique patterns and rich multi-layer effects. By utilizing a rotogravure printing process, these coatings are applied with an impression roller for the desired look of nature to the metal substrate. 
“Our experts at the Sherwin-Williams DesignHouse studied design trends, nature and countless products across markets,” said Kiki Redhead, Global Color Materials Finish (CMF) & Trend Manager at Sherwin-Williams. “While observing the evolution of wood, natural metal and stone, we realized an opportunity to create something that would simultaneously stand out and fit in.”

Emulate offers a fresh take on the new natural by mimicking the design, pattern and structure of common building materials and is further broken down into categories reimagined through time. The latest offering includes 30 total colorways across specific collections for wood, stone and metal:

•        Wood – “bringing nature to life,” inspired from oak, walnut, burl and barnboard.
•        Stone – “a vision of strength,” chiseled in marble, travertine, concrete and terrazzo.
•        Metal – “modern durability,” leaf, weathered, burnished and hammered.

Sherwin-Williams' metal print colorways not only add beauty to a project, but they do so without stripping the world of finite natural resources – part of Sherwin-Williams sustainability commitment to preserving the environment with recyclable metal substrates.

“For example, in a very intentional way, we’ve been able to mimic the beauty and detail of wood while providing design flexibility and durability,” said Brynn Wildenauer, Architectural Color Designer for Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings. “Similarly, by mimicking the finishes of natural metals such as zinc and copper and heavy stone, architects can achieve the desired look these precious building materials offers, but in a much more efficient way.” 

The Coil Coatings team has translated the technologies, colors and effects of Emulate based on market research and major societal catalysts such as sustainability, economy, humanity and equality. The offering is informed by Sherwin-Williams color and coating experts, leveraging years of research and development to present colors and effects intended to inspire architectural and building product design.