The North American division of German printing press manufacturer KBA recently held an open house at its Dallas, TX headquarters where it was promoting a new recyclable plastic substrate from MicroGREEN Polymers of Washington.
“Printers are seeking new environmentally-friendly and sustainable substrates as well as new sheets to set their customers apart in the market,” said Mark Hischar, president and CEO of KBA North America in a company release. “We’re pleased to work with MicroGREEN Polymers and introduce InCycle to our customers to run on our presses.”
The InCycle plastic substrates were tested and run on a 20-inch KBA Genius 52 UV press. The 20mil plastic comes in 28 x 40, 28 x 20 and 48 x 96-inch sheets and web rolls. The basic InCycle brand sheet is made with up to 50 percent post-consumer recycled content.
“In our process we take virgin and recycled PET plastic, extrude it, and, using our proprietary Ad-Air technology, create bubbles in it, which turns it into a very lightweight easily printed substrate with a solid, waterproof skin,” notes Chris Jacobs, MicroGREEN’s director of marketing and product development.
At the in-house demonstration the InCycle substrate was printed with four-colour process inks and a UV coating inline, all cured via UV at the end of the press.
“We’ve created a sustainable alternative to solid plastic and poly-coated paperboard in packaging and graphic communication applications,” adds Jacobs. “We believe that our product will increase your sustainability scorecard rating, insulate you from EPR legislation, save you money with logistics, protect temperature-sensitive items, and offer a bright white/reflecting surface.”
