What are Real Touch Artificial Flowers

Artificial flowers are popular household goods and occupy a large market in the world. They are commonly used as gifts or interior decorating items. However, many people perceive artificial flowers as low quality and cheap because they do not look and feel natural. This was once true because artificial flowers were generally produced with plastic, cotton or silk materials. They didn’t display vivid colors and didn’t have the same soft moisture feel as a real flower. But such perceptions no longer hold true because today’s technology has made it possible to have high-quality artificial flowers that are very close to Mother Nature.

At Flovery™, we have done extensive research with our customers for more than a decade. We started with the low-quality artificial flowers many years ago and decided that those are very unsatisfying.

Let’s start with the history of artificial flowers

Many manufacturing processes were invented back in the 1950s to better structure artificial flowers using a combination of metal and plastic. In the early 1980s, a few companies started to use a plastic stem molded around a reinforcing wire. Petals were made of silk and mounted on the terminal of the stem. The same technique has been used for several decades with minor improvements. Those artificial flowers may easily get deformed or damaged during the transit, storage, and usage process. These have many problems due to the unnatural look and feel. They tend to lose their color and luster easily and quickly. That’s why when people refer to artificial flowers, they think about super cheap silk flowers. Over time, the public has come to agree with this sentiment.

In 2006, a new artificial flower manufacturing technology transformed the industry. This invention used polyether polyurethane (PU) foam instead of plastic or silk to offer a more natural look and feel, which sometimes can be mistaken as a real flower. During the process, a mixture of polyether and polyurethane compose a lightweight foam that is poured into the molds to form artificial flowers' components. Paste in various colors is injected directly into the foam, then additionally sprayed onto the surfaces and heated to cure the desired colors permanently. It is not done manually as the process is computer-controlled. This new line of product effectively solves the problems mentioned above and meets the demands of the growing market for artificial flowers. Over a decade, this new methodology has been adopted by various manufacturers to create a wide range of flower designs. Today “PU” flowers are often referred as “real touch” flowers.

To quickly compare, the photo below shows a traditional silk flower head:

Upon closer look, you can see the edges are frayed with cut fabric:

The glue spots are very visible in the flower's stigma:

Each petal shows clear lines of fabric:

Real touch artificial flowers have all the detail and feel of Mother Nature. You cannot really tell if this is a fresh rose:

The flower petals have the same touch and feel of fresh flowers even under sunlight:

You can touch and feel the tulip veins as they are not “printed” on the petals:

There are no visible glue spots in this real touch poppy flower:

What are the top reasons to choose real touch flowers?

First, let’s clarify to clear up any confusion. Real touch flowers are also called natural touch flowers, life-like flowers, realistic flowers or high quality artificial flowers. They may or may not refer to the same manufacturing process. At Flovery™, our designers know how to pick out the best flowers and materials to meet the high standards of our customers. There are also many other fabrication processes using pure latex or silk with latex coated to mimic the look of real touch flowers. Some of them have very high quality and high resemblance of polyether polyurethane flowers, especially calla lilies.

Real touch flowers are appealing for not only their touch and feel but also their texture and vivid color. Their characteristic is amazing because the flower head is not easily broken by folding. Furthermore, as a flower material, polyurethane is stable and does not change easily. It can retain the memory of its initial shape after being subjected to external forces such as squeezing and pressing. The flower petals and plant leaves can be made to show vein-like lines. A variety of additives, for example, such as scent, fragrance, and flame retardant can be conveniently added to the formulation. The additives can have long-lasting effects within polyurethane.

REAL TOUCH ARTIFICIAL FLORAL TREND IS HERE TO STAY

Orchids, lilies, calla lilies, roses, buds, tulips, amaryllis, plumerias, peonies, and gerbera daisy are the most common types of real touch flowers. The main reason is that those flowers’ petals are a little thicker so they are easily fabricated using real touch materials instead of silk. That is why the real touch petal edges don’t fray or shred like pure silk.