CMA Imaging announces eco-friendly digital alternative to silver halide film 

Digital print specialists, agencies and brand owners who want to gain the effect of Duratrans but via an environmentally friendly option now have the alternative of CMA Perfect Trans that replicates RA4 silver halide film without any of the disadvantages. Ideal for back-lit applications and light-boxes, the material is fully recyclable and, when teamed with HP Latex Printing Technology, it meets the green practices that are now in increasing demand throughout the retail sector, with excellent and vivid results which don’t need over-laminating to produce a glossy finish.

Competition has been fierce to generate an alternative to Duratrans which has become popular for creating back-lit areas that carry the illusion of depth when rear illuminated. However, the requirement has been growing for a material that carries no silver halide content, nor any associated chemistry and darkroom processing conditions. Following five years developing a comparable media, CMA Imaging now offers Perfect Trans which not only incorporates the correct performance characteristics but can be printed on an HP Latex platform which also carries essential eco-aware properties that are in keeping with the desire by print houses and brands to lower environmental impact.

Launched officially at FESPA 2015 in Cologne, CMA Perfect Trans has already been adopted by cosmetic brand Clarins for in-store back-lit applications, specified and commissioned by exclusive UK supplier, Perfect Colours. The material has proved its capabilities with exceptional colour depth and excellent saturation, consistently even back-lighting edge-to-edge, and the correct, balanced levels of translucence to add dimensional effects to applications where vibrance and illumination combine to play a strong role in the overall impact and effect.

“Formerly products that tried to emulate the quality of Duratrans tended to fail because they lacked the ability to maintain the ability to combine strong colour depth with the back-lighting effects essential to bring these applications to life,” states Mark Sanderson, Managing Director of CMA Imaging. “CMA Perfect Trans has been based on the end criteria needed to generate similar results but without any chemicals or darkroom working. As a result our material meets the growing need for greener products that are cost-effective and enable print companies to maintain and increase their margins.”

CMA Perfect Trans is part of a growing portfolio of solutions available to the digital print market including CMA Backlit and CMA Canvas, along with its ColorCloud colour management and ink savings solution that offers consistency in quality and standardisation across all output devices.