Kernow Coatings, the global leader in the development of digitally printable substrates, today announced their continued commitment to conducting business in ways that both help protect our planet now and build a better, more ecologically aware future for generations to come.

As climate change and waste awareness continue to take primary focus worldwide, environmental responsibility is at the forefront for many companies. As part of the ongoing commitment to sustainability and resource conservation, Kernow has increased its emphasis on recyclability, energy reduction and landfill waste reduction through a variety of developments with KernowPrint Elite.

Environmental Protection Agency studies (Lilienfeld, 2008) have found that paper products can take as long as plastics to decompose in landfills and many times, post-print treatments, such as lamination of those products, eliminate recycling options for those items. To help combat this, Kernow's research team has developed specialized water-based coatings that are easily managed in the waste and recycling streams without contaminating recycled resins. In addition, KernowPrint Elite has been designed with an environmental base film that can be handled through most recycling systems as a single piece. The combination of advanced coatings and base film allow printers to produce single-process prints that are easily deinked and can go directly into the recycling chain.

To reduce overall waste production and landfill scrap, Kernow has developed a new 100% closed loop process for its KernowPrint Elite products. The closed loop process captures 100% of production waste for recycling. The recaptured production waste is used to make up 50% of all KernowPrint Elite products, with an additional 35% of products coming from external recycled waste. The result is an efficient 85% reduction in new resin requirements for the entire range.

"Environmental awareness is a topic that impacts us all," states Bosy Colak of Kernow Coatings. "As a source manufacturer of products that travel through the process from manufacturing to consumer use, it's our responsibility and duty to increase the awareness our industry has of its impacts on the environment. By reducing our requirement for virgin products, dramatically cutting our disposed waste, and creating products that can be easily managed in a recycle stream instead of simply being tossed out, we have made it our goal to take the lead in environmental awareness for our industry."

KernowPrint Elite is available in Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. To learn more about KernowPrint Elite and Kernow's commitment to environmental protection, please contact your local Kernow representative.

For more information, contact Dan Lawellin, Product Manager – HP Indigo Materials, at [email protected].