Paper41 by 41zero42, ceramic tiles used as wall cladding in a hotel washroom

It looks like wallpaper. You clean it with water, and it does not burn: Paper41 by 41zero42

41zero42
Paper41 Lux Franz
Paper41 Lux Franz The piece that makes the room
From £ 1/box

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Bespoke: size, colour, finish

Every hotel bathroom that has ever had wallpaper peeling above the basin explains why Paper41 exists. 41zero42 takes the decorative language of paper – a pattern that runs on from sheet to sheet, here calculated on a 1 mm joint – and prints it on porcelain stoneware with HD cold glazing. What sits under the drawing is ceramic: water absorption measured at 0.3%, stain resistance in class 3, a surface you wash with water and a neutral detergent, and a reaction-to-fire classification instead of a warning. A specifier is not swapping one finish for another; they are swapping a maintenance regime.

The family comes in three series that are not interchangeable. Pro is 50×100 cm (20"×40") at 3.5 mm, matt rectified, fibreglass-backed, with thirteen patterns including the five Jane panels; Up shares that body and adds a matt relief you read in raking light; Lux moves to 60×120 cm (24"×48") at 6 mm, glossy, and ships three different graphics in every box. All three are declared for walls – interior and, for Pro and Up, exterior – never for floors and never for the walls of a swimming pool. What a specifier is really choosing here is a maintenance regime, and that choice survives the first contract cleaning schedule. La Mercanti puts series, pattern sequence and grout reference into the same package as the furniture.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Paper41, three series – Pro, Up, Lux
Manufacturer: 41zero42, Fiorano Modenese, Italy
Technology: HD cold glazing digital porcelain, rectified
Paper41 Pro: 50×100 cm (20"×40"), 3.5 mm (0.14 in.), matt rectified, reinforced with a fibreglass sheet; patterns Zoe, Azzurra, Luz, Marcela, Musa, Olivia, Flora, Midori and Jane A, B, C, D, E
Paper41 Up: 50×100 cm (20"×40"), 3.5 mm (0.14 in.), matt relief rectified, fibreglass-backed; patterns Gae, Carla, Diana
Paper41 Lux: 60×120 cm (24"×48"), 6 mm (0.24 in.), glossy rectified; patterns Lars, Gianni, Jacques, Cristoforo, Louis, Franz; each box contains three different graphics (A, B, C)
Declared applications: hotels, restaurants, offices, shop windows, showers, kitchen backsplash, sauna and steam bath; Pro and Up also for outdoor wall cladding
Declared exclusions: floors and swimming pool wall coverings for all three series; outdoor for Lux
Minimum distance from flames: 20 cm (8") from the laid product
Test values: water absorption 0.3% (ISO 10545/3, required ≤0.5%); stain resistance class 3 (ISO 10545/14); thermal shock resistant (ISO 10545/9, Pro and Up); colour stability on exposure to light, no visible alteration (DIN 51094, Pro and Up); modulus of rupture 45 N/mm² on Lux (ISO 10545/4, required ≥35); dimensions to ISO 10545/2; ASTM C373, C484, C1378, C372 and bond resistance ≥50 PSI to ASTM C482
Reaction to fire: A2-s1, d0 for Pro and Up; A1 for Lux (UNI EN 13501-1:2019)
Packing, Pro and Up: 2 slabs per box, 1.00 m² (10.8 sq ft), 8 kg (17.6 lb); 30 boxes per pallet, 30.00 m², 240 kg (529 lb)
Packing, Lux: 3 slabs per box, 2.16 m² (23.3 sq ft), 34 kg (75 lb); 18 boxes per pallet, 38.88 m², 612 kg (1,349 lb)
Installation: 1 mm (0.04 in.) joint, no levelling spacers, start at least 4 mm (0.16 in.) above floor level, cementitious grouts and plastic trowels only; neutral silicone, never acetic
Grout colours named per pattern: Kerakoll KK 2 for Zoe, Azzurra, Marcela, Musa, Olivia, Midori, Gae, Cristoforo and Franz; KK 12 for Flora, Jane, Diana and Lars; KK 30 for Jacques; KK 50 for Gianni; KK 4 for Louis; Mapei 137 Caribbean for Luz; Mapei 150 Yellow for Carla
Cutting: porcelain tooling, score once from above, no waterjet; holes with an angle grinder and diamond bits, edge finished with an abrasive sponge
41zero42 note: the decorative technique improves image definition and colour rendering but makes surface abrasion resistance lower than traditional porcelain stoneware, which is why the collection is declared for wall cladding only

La Mercanti Srl — trusted supplier for design and contract projects since 1997.
San Benedetto del Tronto (AP), Italy · +39 0735 753833 · info@lamercanti.com
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FAQ

Is Paper41 a tile or a wall covering?
Technically it is porcelain stoneware; visually it behaves like wallpaper. The pattern is printed with HD cold glazing and continues from one slab to the next on a 1 mm joint, so a wall reads as a single image rather than a grid of tiles.
Can it be laid on the floor?
No. 41zero42 states that the decorative technique lowers surface abrasion resistance compared with traditional porcelain, so all three series are declared for wall cladding only — and never for the walls of a swimming pool.
How close to a hob can it be installed?
Twenty centimetres is the minimum distance between the laid product and the flames, stated by the manufacturer. Kitchen backsplashes are among the declared applications, provided that clearance is kept.
How is it cut on site?
With porcelain tooling: score the surface once from above with a sharp diamond blade, snap, then clean the cut edge with the abrasive sponge supplied for the purpose. Waterjet cutting is ruled out; holes are made with an angle grinder and diamond bits.
Why is the joint fixed at 1 mm?
Because the pattern is drawn to carry on at that dimension. A wider joint interrupts the continuity, and levelling spacers are ruled out for the same reason: the slab is set by hand and checked as the course rises.

How to specify Paper41 by 41zero42 for a project

Five steps that take a Paper41 pattern from the mood board to a finished wall, following the applications and installation rules declared by the manufacturer.

Fix the series
Pro gives 50×100 cm at 3.5 mm matt, Up the same slab with a relief face, Lux 60×120 cm at 6 mm gloss. The series decides format, thickness, fire class and how the surface handles light, so settle it before anyone falls in love with a pattern.
Check the wall against the declared uses
Hotels, restaurants, offices, shop windows, showers, kitchen backsplashes and sauna areas are all declared. Floors and pool walls are not; outdoor is ruled out for Lux. Near a hob, keep the laid product at least 20 cm clear of the flames.
Plan the pattern, not the tile count
Because the drawing runs on across slabs, set out the boxes on the floor and agree the sequence before adhesive is mixed. With Lux there are three graphics inside every box, which makes the layout a design decision rather than a delivery.
Write the installation rules into the drawing
1 mm joint, no levelling spacers, first course at least 4 mm above the floor, cementitious grout and plastic trowels only. Specify neutral silicone for shower trays and frames — acetic silicone is excluded by the manufacturer.
Name the grout in the schedule
41zero42 names a grout colour for each pattern, from Kerakoll KK 2 to Mapei 137 Caribbean. Putting that reference in the finishes schedule stops a site decision from rewriting the wall you drew.

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