skai® artificial leather is an excellent surface material. The imitation leather has attracted international attention and is a stylish, comfortable solution that fits an enormous variety of applications, from the interior design of high-quality residential and commercial areas, to the medical sector and outdoor use. Some of our artificial leathers also easily meet all fire protection requirements (B1 certified) – and thus provide a good alternative to real leather. Perfectly coordinated collections and innovations provide solutions for upholstery, furniture fronts and floor panels of all kinds to merge into a single unit. Artificial leather made from PVC plastic gets top scores for durability, an indication of its genuine quality.
The commercial fit-out sector places high demands on our skai® upholstery fabrics. Applications such as bed headboards in hotels and cruise ships or seating in restaurants and stadiums must be flame-retardant, to protect passengers and guests in the event of an emergency. Our products meet a wide range of flammability standards. Our skai® Parotega NF, skai® Paratexa NF and skai® Palma NF products comply with the strict specifications for Class 1 fire protection.
Depending on the use, materials for commercial fit-outs must be the most durable versions possible. For seating areas that are often frequented by visitors, the furniture must be highly resistant to abrasion, to prevent wear. skai® Pandoria Plus and skai Toronto EN meet the highest requirements with 300,000 Martindale tours.
Furniture manufacturers, furniture designers, interior designers and decorators are inspired by the attractive designs, strong structures and on-trend colors of our artificial leather for their own productions. Using our faux leather for furniture, they always create emotionally touching living worlds with irresistible appeal, whether our materials are used on the couch, on the armchair or on the wall. Our products are ubiquitous: at home, in the car, at work, on holiday and during leisure time. In any situation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They enrich and beautify our lives. They make sure that we are comfortable and feel good around the clock.
Our special skai® faux leather materials for the food service industry is suitable for particularly demanding areas such as seating in cafes and restaurants. As a manufacturer of coated surfaces, we offer a wide range of PVC leatherette in many different colors, looks and embossing styles. The right vinyl upholstery fabric can be found for every space and application – even according to your individual wishes.
Due to their product properties, some of the skai upholstery fabrics are particularly well suited for use on furniture in commercial fit-outs, such as nursing homes for the elderly, hospitals and medical practices. A new type of coating on faux leathers for the medical sector provides excellent surface protection. They are resistant to the use of disinfectants, blood and urine resistant, REACH compliant and meet the Medical Devices Act.
With skai® cool colors Venezia and skai® Neptun, we offer innovative outdoor faux leather. skai® cool colors Venezia is a high-quality upholstery fabric for outdoor use whose surface significantly reduces the warming of the upholstery material in direct sunlight. Special cool colors pigments reflect up to 80% of near-infrared radiation. This reduces the heating of the upholstery material by up to 25%. This outstanding technology has already proven itself in other business areas, such as convertible seat covers or window frames.
Here applies: The darker the color, the greater the effect. In the outdoor sector, skai® cool colors Venezia now allows the use of colored synthetics across the entire spectrum, which was previously problematic due to heating.
The outdoor material skai® Neptun – either in Caleri or Pescara embossing – is also available in many summer colors. It has everything an upholstery material needs to withstand all weather conditions. The extremely robust material is lightfast and waterproof. All other values are also far above the norm. This makes the surface a successful long seller, especially for outdoor use, for example in cafés and restaurants.
Above all skai® Neptun is the first choice for marine applications as boat upholstery, on yachts and on cruise ships. A nano-coating makes both materials particularly resistant to dirt and weathering. They are chlorine resistant, saltwater resistant and UV-stable.
Discover our collection skai® faux leather for boats and cruise ships.
With skai® faux leather for caravans and mobile homes, your individual furnishing concepts can be implemented at a high level in terms of aesthetics, function and durability.
Especially in the interior and seating areas of caravans, the requirements for use are significantly higher. Here, the faux leather for caravans and mobile homes convinces with a high quality as well as a wide range of colors in many designs.
The PU synthetic leather skai® Pureto EN in a high-quality calfskin look is an outstanding, universally applicable surface material that is convincing in terms of finishing, quality and ease of care. The modern colors of the PU faux leather also offer versatile options for making seating furniture attractive for different areas of use and for meeting the decisive factors: Aesthetics and seating comfort - as well as durability and easy care.
Printing faux leather: Create your own digital print designs on one of our high-quality skai® upholstery fabrics to match the project. You bring your desired design with you and, in cooperation with the skai® experts, define the material quality and embossing of the artificial leather and adjust the color or repeat.
Artificial leather – breathable and air-permeable: laif® VyP. The innovative material laif® VyP belongs to the next generation of artificial leathers that are permeable to steam and breathable faux leathers.
Our skai® artificial leather materials with special flame-retardant finish for interior use fulfil international fire protection standards B1, M1, AM18 as well as Crib 5. They impress with their high-quality, robust and versatile designs in plain colors, as faux leather or textile look. This makes the B1 faux leathers ideal for use in design-oriented contract applications, where fire protection is particularly strictly regulated.
From an early stage, attempts have been made to produce leather imitations i.e., cheap and durable alternatives to temperamental and scarce real leather that were easily available by the meter. Artificial leather in the strictest sense has been around since the middle of the 20th century. It consists of at least two components: a textile substrate made of natural or synthetic fibers onto which a cover layer of colored plastic is laminated on a PU or PVC base.
Soft artificial leather, as described above, is popular as a versatile cover for seats and couches. For example, it replaces nappa leather on seating and reclining furniture such as armchairs, sofas and benches. Real leather can also be easily replaced by artificial leather in waiting areas and offices, in cars, ships and airplanes, or on treatment chairs and couches in the medical sector. By deviating from real leather, almost all conceivable colors and patterns are possible, whether red, brown, beige, pine green, turquoise, black, grey, metallic tones and even color combinations. Because of its excellent properties, artificial nappa leather is also preferred to real leather for use on door trims, wall elements, consoles and gearshift bellows, among other things.
What all synthetic leathers have in common is that they are manufactured as industrial open-ended belting and are often intended to give the impression of real leather. For this purpose, one or more layers of PVC or polyurethane are applied to a textile or synthetic base layer. For the deceptively real look and feel, the surface is then given a textured or grain embossing. A finish protects against mechanical stress and other environmental influences. Depending on the intended use, there are thin, medium or thick versions. What all high-quality artificial leathers have in common is that they can be cut to the exact requirements of the processor. Expensive waste, as with genuine leather, can be minimized.
Real leather is one of the oldest cultural goods manufactured by humans. As far back as the Stone Age, it was used as clothing, protection, containers, and more. Natural leather is obtained from animal skins in a complex process. To render it pliant and durable, it is mechanically and chemically processed.
Artificial leather, on the other hand, is a synthetic leather imitation that can be industrially manufactured in any quantity to be sold by the meter. Material properties, appearance and texture can be endlessly varied: from the popular patterns of a wide variety of natural leathers to textile fabric textures including seams and stitching, right through to custom technical embossing.
Today, the synthetic doppelganger of real leather has nothing to do with the often still clumsy imitations of earlier decades. Modern artificial leathers are often indistinguishable from real leather to the naked eye or by touch, and are often superior and more suitable for industrial production than the prototype. The innovative upholstery fabric is also impressive when it comes to sustainability: artificial leather with recyclable material components, bio-based raw materials or even with recycled content from bottle PET or coffee grounds are already a reality today.
Unlike real leather, mechanical stress, sunlight and moisture have little effect on the highly water and UV-resistant imitation. It doesn’t fade, or become brittle or stained. With careful maintenance, artificial leather still looks almost new, even years later. skai® cover fabrics also impress with their perfect suitability for everyday use. For applications in demanding hospitality or mobility situations, an innovative surface sealant provides unsurpassed resistance to ketchup and red wine stains, jeans abrasion or even intentional soiling! This is easy not just on the eye, but on your wallet too!
Faux leather can be manufactured, transported, stored, and processed in large rolls to be sold by the meter. Imitation leather is more economical and quicker to manufacture than real leather; less trimming is required during processing. Artificial leather can be cut, pinned, sewn, nailed, or glued, easily and safely. Depending on the product and application, our skai® faux leather can also be pulled around curves and edges.
Manufacturing of faux leather: An elastic cover layer made of PU or PVC plastic is applied to a substrate made of synthetic fibers on large machines, after which the foam layer is applied. This is followed by surface embossing of the leather imitation: cowhide, ostrich or creative embossing – almost everything is possible and is even part of the skai® standard repertoire. Finally, a transparent protective layer protects the surface from dirt, abrasion and UV radiation.
Cleaning and care of faux leather: It is an extremely easy-to-clean upholstery material. In most cases, all that’s needed is to wipe the surface with a warm, mild soap solution and a microfiber cloth, and then dry it. A soft hand brush can also be used for heavier soiling. In contrast to open-pored real leather, leather imitation is not harmed by juice or even red wine stains, once the mark is immediately wiped off the fabric. In situations where artificial leather upholstery is subject to heavy-duty use, for example in the catering trade, the innovative staynu coating ensures unrivalled resistance to soiling – even a permanent marker stain can be easily removed!
The many advantages of faux leather are:
skai® artificial leather can be ordered directly from us for orders above a certain quantity. You can also order artificial leather samples online beforehand, with no commitment. Our sales staff will be happy to advise you. Just call or email us!
Do you want to see and feel these high-quality materials for yourself? Simply add the samples you need to your shopping cart on the corresponding product page and send your order to us right away.
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