Marchel van der Camp, Sign & Display market development manager for Great Western Europe, UK and Ireland at HP, said that the software would be available to both new and existing customers from 14 January.

The cloud-based tool is intended to simplify the design, visualisation and production of short-run customised wallcoverings and forms part of a modular range of design and production software, media and printing and finishing options.

In a key departure from previous HP wallcovering packages, printers will be given much more freedom in terms of the graphics they choose and media they can print on, according to van der Camp.

He said: "In the past we had a contract [with a third party] that owned all the pictures, which meant there was a limited selection, whereas now every hi-res photo over 4Mb can be used with the HP WallArt Solution.

"There is also no mandatory media from HP. That is the power of latex - you can use almost any substrate - there is no limit from us, the only limit is your imagination. As long as the media has been tested and has a profile created for it, you can use it."

Printers can download a wide range of media profiles from HP's website or create their own profiles, with help from HP's channel partners if required.

The HP WallArt Solution allows printers or their customers to design customised wallcoverings in the cloud. Users can enter precise room dimension, including fittings, choose from a range of images or upload their own content for backgrounds, objects and text, and view a realistic visualisation prior to ordering.

The rest of the bundle, which is built around HP's Designjet L26500 and L28500 and Scitex LX600 and LX850 printers, includes design, colour management and RIP software from AVA, and panel cutting from finishing partner Fotoba International.

Van der Camp said: "We give them the whole workflow, from design to file preparation and ripping, media compatability and output; they can put the design and visualisation software on their website if they like, they just have to upload it."

AVA's design and file preparation software allows designers to easily work with repeated patterns and offers the ability to match digital prints to analog in a hybrid print environment, while the AVA RIP is said to increase colour saturation and gamut for high-quality wallcoverings as well as helping achieve realistic colours on non-white media.

It also automatically generates cut marks for the Fotoba XLD 170 WP automatic cutting device that HP is offering as part of its modular range. On the print front, HP said its Designjet L26500 and L28500 were ideal for printing proofs or short runs directly to production media, while its Scitex LX600 and LX850 were aimed at high-volume, on-demand wallcovering production.

HP, which unveiled its new modular range at the Heimtextil 2013 textile trade fair in Frankfurt today, said that it wanted to offer an easy route into the custom-printed wall decor production market and to help its existing latex customers to expand their wallcovering business.

"For us, it's a key area for investments," said van der Camp. "Our market is short-run for digital decoration of anything from restaurants to schools and hospitals. The advantage of latex of course compared to solvent is that you can use it for every environment and you do not have any of the problems associated with solvent arising from VOCs, such as the smell, which can take anything from two hours to two months to dissipate."