Consumables
Spandex Increases Business Opportunities for Printers with New Environmentally-Friendly, Non-PVC Media
Monday 29. June 2009 - Extensions to ImagePerfect range meet increasing customer requirements for green materials
Spandex, the pioneering one-stop supplier of complete and innovative solutions to the digital printing and sign making industries worldwide, has expanded its ImagePerfect range of media with new environmentally-friendly, 100 percent PVC-free materials. Specifically designed for large format digital inkjet printing, the new materials are compatible with all eco-solvent and solvent inks, as well as UV-cured inks and are suitable for use in an extensive range of indoor and outdoor signage applications. The new ImagePerfect polyolefin products are both plasticiser- and chlorine-free and feature a specially-developed top-coating for vibrant, high quality printability.
Spandexs new ImagePerfect materials comprise IP 2120 Frontlit Banner, a premium coated material with a wide colour gamut that feels and handles like a plasticised product and, like traditional PVC banner, can be seam-welded; IP2413 Multi-Purpose Media, a tear-resistant, scratch-proof product that is perfectly suited for indoor or outdoor application as backlit film, roll-up display media, banner material etc; IP 2830-103 Eco-Laminate Gloss, a water-based adhesive system created as a match-component over-laminate; IP2522 Eco-Digital White gloss polyolefin and IP2523 Eco-Digital Clear gloss polyolefin. Both IP2522 and IP2523 facilitate product application by providing good adhesion to irregular substrates, including many low-energy surfaces – a factor that is further enhanced by the films’ good level of flexibility and conformability, even over curved surfaces.
“These non-PVC, environmentally-friendly ImagePerfect materials allow for the creation of digital output that is more environmentally-friendly than would be the case with standard vinyl options”, says Roland Keller, Executive Product Director, Spandex. “As a result, the new media increases the revenue-enhancing opportunities for digital printers, whose own customers are increasingly stipulating that their printed graphics use green materials”, he adds.
The new ImagePerfect films are perfect for indoor promotional projects, such as exhibition displays, POS graphics and showroom signage; while their high UV-resistance allows printers to cost-effectively undertake a wide-range of outdoor applications – including billboards and construction sites – with up to two-year durability.
Further reduction in environmental impact
Additional environmental benefits are delivered by the products upon disposal. Unlike PVC, the eco-responsible materials do not release harmful dioxin – one of the most toxic substances known – upon incineration, which therefore allows for non-hazardous disposal and zero landfill. Spandexs new ImagePerfect materials also meet the full requirements of the stringent EU Phthalates Directive 2005/84/EC, concerning phthalates content in children’s toys and childcare articles.
Extended array of eco-friendly print projects
The new films also afford digital printers further revenue-enhancing opportunities in a number of other print applications. These added-value print projects include decals, self-adhesive stickers, decoration and signage for application in hospitals and retail food departments where the use of products containing plasticiser is typically highly regulated.
The ImagePerfect range of Signage and Digital materials is distributed in Europe exclusively by Spandex.