The Neschen stand at FESPA Global Print Expo was impossible to miss. Filled with real trees and every part of it covered in beautiful green adhesives, the message was clear about the value it places on sustainability.
The Neschen range is distributed in Australia exclusively by Starleaton and group sales and marketing director, John Buitenkamp, said the new PVC free Neschen Green Easy Dot Pet Matt L-UV adhesive is now available in Australia. Both Buitenkamp and Starleaton CEO Ben Eaton have spent the week at the FESPA Global Print Expo in Berlin.
Buitenkamp spent over 20 years working at Neschen and has deep product knowledge of the entire range. He says now in Australia many customers are asking for a more sustainable option for print work, mainly because job specifications from brands demand that sustainable products be used in the production of a job.
The Neschen Green Easy Dot is a fully recyclable product. It is made using polypropylene and can be recycled in standard recycling systems. It can be printed with UV and Latex printing technologies and is also compatible with the HP Indigo Digital Press.
“Stock is now in Australia and we are really excited because customers are starting to ask and look for products like this which is really great,” Buitenkamp said.
“The whole non-PVC push is really starting to come from brands.”
Starleaton CEO Ben Eaton said it is exciting because for the first time in 15 years the ‘green story’ is really starting to take hold.
“It will either happen through legislation or specification and the legislation just isn’t here but the specification is really happening now. For us, we are attached to European manufacturers in our DNA. We do not bring in anything from Asia. Europe is really at the forefront of these standards but it is good so I think we are going to be in a great position to have leading, specified and endorsed products,” Eaton said.
“The challenge has always been can the products go into standard household recycling systems and the products from Neschen now can and that is the key.
“There are still challenges if there is a release liner on it, you need to separate it. We still have some way to go as an industry to make sure these products truly have a life cycle.”
Buitenkamp said there is still ground work to be done to change the minds and understanding of sign shops to consider using the Neschen Green Easy Dot.
“That is going to take time to convince the market that this is important and it is not for every ink set just at this stage and the range is still developing. PVC is not disappearing tomorrow and there is just not enough of the other materials for this to happen as well,” he said.
Starleaton recently recruited Thomas Anderson to the sales team who is bringing fresh perspectives to sustainability and is playing a key role in educating the market about the benefits of looking at a more sustainable adhesive option.
“We’ve got some experienced sales guys in our team but we are all a little bit older but Thomas is young and he has a different mindset on sustainable living,” Buitenkamp said.
Eaton also pointed out that Neschen, as a relatively small manufacturer, can handle the production of bespoke products relatively quickly.
Neschen is also offering Easy Style, a fully recyclable paper-based film adhesive which can be used to cover furniture.
Starleaton also distributes the Klieverik range of calender units. The 1.6m Vertex model is a new product launched at FESPA and priced at around $60,000 is a more economical option for those looking to get into dye-sublimation production.
Neenah Coldenhove have also launched new transfer paper, TEXCOL, which has opened up the way for dye sublimation printing on cotton and other natural fibres including wool, linen and polyester blends.
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