Environmentally Responsible Print & Display
After finishing off a post about Dispa board, it got us thinking about other eco-friendly signage options for print and display.
With the reduction of plastic usage all over the news, an overview of environmentally conscious media seemed like a timely article to add to the site.
As you’d expect from a digital and screen printer, we get asked to use many weird and wonderful substrates. Looking back over some of the ranges we know and have printed on gave us these options for recycled or recyclable Point of Sale products:
Corrugated cardboard
Honeycomb board: Falcon/Xanita/Dufaylite/reboard
Display card
Smart-X
Stadur Easyprint
Polypropylene – Correx or Priplak
Not all of these substrates would be a direct non-PVC or eco-friendly swap. Each product has different plus points depending on its suitability.
Some of the reasons may be down to cost. Fluted corrugated cardboard such as e flute or b flute is incredibly cost-effective for short-term free standing display units (FSDU) for example.
Other reasons may be inherent within the product itself. We’ve found 3A Composites’ Smart-X to be very stable when used in store windows.
Of course, the main reason to use a particular product could well be because of the environmentally friendly aspect of the media.
Eco-Friendly Signage & POS
Display board is widely used for hanging signs in supermarkets – look up the next time you’re in Tesco. Short-term promotional prints that can be taken down and sent to be recycled after their offers have expired.
If a more lay-flat card is needed, a jump up in quality is the Katz board or Antecote Lite. As recyclable as standard display board but with more of a beermat type inner layer that helps keep it stable when used in warm (and cold) environments.
Shelf strips for supermarkets would have predominantly been printed on PVC but when one of the superstores wants to change over their displays, all these PVC strips have to go on to landfill (at a charge….)
By changing over to polypropylene – brand names include Priplak or Vita – and at the end of their life, all those strips can be recycled.
It can be the difference between paying thousands to dispose of your print, to actually being paid by a recycler who’ll take it away.
The same for fluted polypropylene or Correx – check this post on Correx printing for more on this versatile all-rounder.
A product we’re seeing more of is the honeycomb type cardboard. Branded as Falcon, Dufaylite or Reboard, it’s easy to rout and cut and perfect for FSDU’s and store displays.
The two thicker substrates here – Smart-X and Stadur Easyprint are eco-friendly options for when solid foam PVC would be the go-to product.
Smart-X is 100% polystyrene. Stadur is a bit more durable with its polypropylene outer liners and a polystyrene inner layer.
Stadur is available up to 50mm so even for some heavyweight signage applications, it’s an eco-friendly signage product that will fit the bill.
Self-Adhesive PVC alternatives
That covers the rigid board options for eco-friendly signage but what about self-adhesive vinyl or banners?
Thankfully, there are a few options for non-PVC media. There’s not a vast range but most suppliers will have a polypropylene flexible banner for short-term use.
Popular brands such as Orafol have their polypropylene self-adhesive – Orajet 3174 – as do Avery in their MPI 3901 range. Non-PVC alternatives are out there, you just have to do some digging to find them.
To find out what environmentally friendly product is best suited to your application, talk to us on 01782 413789.
We’ve worked with clients right across the print and sign spectrum.
Stuck finding the most effective eco-friendly signage options or other traditional grades? We bet we’ve created something similar before.
If you’re looking for more ideas to make an impression with your branding, read through our posts on innovative museum signage and hospital sign options.
