We pride ourselves on being the world’s first carbon-neutral manufacturer of self-adhesive products for the sign and graphics sector.
We are continuously looking for more environmentally friendly products
In addition to the more usual industry standard PVC films we currently also offer two types of non-PVC products; polypropylene (PP) and polyester (PET):
- POLYPROPYLENE (PP) FILMS: matt or gloss, white or clear, digitally printable polypropylene
- POLYESTER (PET) FILMS: clear polyester for anti-graffiti laminates, decorative metallised films or wipe boards.
We will soon be announcing that our very popular gold and silver metallised films will be produced with 100% recycled aluminium.
For packaging we use 40% recycled plastic end caps and 80% recycled boxes and our adhesive drums are sent for recycling with all our general waste sent to waste-for-energy.
Pioneering new processes
We have pioneered new processes to produce our eco-friendly products, equipping our factory with a range of devices and adaptations to ensure the quality of material entering and leaving the coater is of the optimum quality.
A corona treater, specialist rollers and a coating weight scanner are key to this, as well as our experienced production team.
Our adhesives
We buy the UV cured acrylic adhesive as a solid block in a drum. We heat the drum and the now liquefied adhesive is transported to the coater. The metal coating head is 1650mm wide and has a full-width slot where the adhesive is extruded on to the release liner. Within a metre, UV light is shone onto the adhesive which cures it and in the same pass we laminate whatever film is required to the adhesive side.
Solvent adhesives not only contain V.O.C.s but they need banks of “gas-guzzling” heaters to evaporate the solvent after coating – Modern UV-LEDs need far less energy overall.
Water-based adhesive does not have the same issues with V.O.C.s and legislation, but still requires multiple gas-intensive ovens to cure the adhesive, this is why we are considered a more environmentally friendly technology and the technology of the future.
Performance-wise, solvent is better than water-based adhesive in terms of being able to bond to all manner of surfaces. Our UV-cured adhesive performance is generally equally matched to solvent-based adhesive without the harmful solvent.
Another benefit of our manufacturing process is that it allows relatively small quantities to be manufactured. The machines for solvent or water-based technology are huge, so set-ups and changeovers can take a lot of time and involve far more waste than our system. We have no need for premixing adhesive and, thanks to additional hoses and melt-tanks we can change over relatively quickly. We are more than capable of supplying just 500 linear metres, typically 10 rolls, which is a real advantage when it comes to niche applications and scale-up of Research & Development projects.
R&D and testing is handled in-house in our lab in Sout Wales which is equipped with a pilot coater, plus FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) to ensure raw material consistency, and the usual shear and peel testing equipment.
We have developed a range of self-adhesive media for signage, wide-format printing and lamination
Our most common media widths are 1600mm, 1560mm, 1370mm and 1260mm, in 50M lengths or 25M for some commodities and higher-end specialities.
Our range of sign media includes coloured, metallised and etched films with our most notable best sellers including our High Opacity White Monomeric and Polymeric films used for block-out work, our non-PVC films and our metallised range of polyester films.
Recently launched High Tack CAD films in black and white matt and gloss are also becoming increasingly popular as are all our films which come with our airXit liner which makes the ease and speed of fitting so much better.
The digital print range includes Solvent, Latex and UV printable PVC and non-PVC products, with matching finishing laminates. There’s also a ‘Specialities’ range with niche products for specific applications, including anti-graffiti, dry-wipe, heavy plant machinery and extreme motorsport, as well as the capabability to produce other bespoke materials.
We only set up in 2018 and despite the challenges of lockdowns and Brexit, growth at our South Wales premises justified a move to much larger premises in April 2023, and as we continue to invest and to develop new products we look forward to the release of our latest product offerings, which include a revised offering in the ‘wall and floor’ applications range, plus as a new removable grade of adhesive which can be cleanly removed from multiple surfaces, including glass.
Continue to watch this space for the latest NU-COAT news and product developments!
CREDIT: This post has been re-purposed from the original Print Week article, 8th December 2023 – click here for original article/more information.
The complete range of NU-COAT sign vinyls, print vinyls, laminates and speciality films are available to order from your regional distributor who will be happy to provide samples and pricing.
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