History Of Orafol - What’s Next?
Many crafters are making use of self-adhesive vinyl, both for business and personal decorations. One perennial favorite is the Oracal line made by a German company called Orafol. While they are now one of the biggest manufacturers of self-adhesive vinyl in the world, Orafol wasn’t always in the crafting game. It had to work its way to the top, and the quality and popularity of the products show. It also points to a promising future for DIYers!
Orafol is a much older company than you’d think! They go back to the early 19th Century, starting as a family business called Wieblitz-Farbenwerkstatt. They made their name as the exclusive producer of postmark inks for the Kingdom of Prussia (now part of Germany), meaning they made all the inks that would mark official mail throughout the region. They did this for a full century until they thought diversification would be necessary; their first non-ink products were lacquers and paints.
It didn’t take them long to become even more innovative. In 1960, Orafol (though under a different name) made the first self-adhesive reflective vinyl for traffic signs. In 1976, they manufactured the first self-adhesive graphic products, selling them under the brand name we still know today: Oracal.
Oracal self-adhesive vinyl didn’t make its way to North America until 2006, but when this product came to Canada and the United States, it proved Orafol was one of the most dominant companies in the crafting world. Going from postal ink to paint to vinyl takes a lot of innovation - what can we expect from them in the future?
From Ink To Oracal: A Brief History Of Orafol
Orafol is a much older company than you’d think! They go back to the early 19th Century, starting as a family business called Wieblitz-Farbenwerkstatt. They made their name as the exclusive producer of postmark inks for the Kingdom of Prussia (now part of Germany), meaning they made all the inks that would mark official mail throughout the region. They did this for a full century until they thought diversification would be necessary; their first non-ink products were lacquers and paints.
It didn’t take them long to become even more innovative. In 1960, Orafol (though under a different name) made the first self-adhesive reflective vinyl for traffic signs. In 1976, they manufactured the first self-adhesive graphic products, selling them under the brand name we still know today: Oracal.
Oracal self-adhesive vinyl didn’t make its way to North America until 2006, but when this product came to Canada and the United States, it proved Orafol was one of the most dominant companies in the crafting world. Going from postal ink to paint to vinyl takes a lot of innovation - what can we expect from them in the future?