Consumables

UK-based, Madico Graphic Films has re-launched the dedicated on-line portal for its growing range of environmentally-friendly, UV and eco-solvent inkjet, and thermal transfer printable window films. The new look website – www.glazingenhancement.com – has been completely overhauled to focus on the broad and innovative applications achievable with Madico’s portfolio, including: branding and advertising, interior and retail design, privacy and manifestation, and safety.  As a result, printers, architects, interior designers and marketers each benefit from easier product selection, according to the needs of their specific project.  For those still unfamiliar with the concept of glazing enhancement, the new website explains the fundamentals of how ‘adding value’ to glazed environments can offer lucrative revenue-enhancing opportunities for Madico’s customers.

Visitors to www.glazingenhancement.com can also enjoy the increased interactivity that demonstrates the creative functionality delivered by each material and the benefits they offer customers.  These substrates include Madico’s range of textured privacy films, which enable designers and architects to combine privacy with decorative printed images, as well as the company’s innovative line of view-control films that offer the ability to block unsightly views, create unique privacy effects or provoke an attention-grabbing reaction to retail displays.

www.glazingenhancement.com also offers a wealth of product information, specification details, and downloadable instructions on how to apply each of Madico’s optically clear and clean-room manufactured window films.

Sun Chemical has released its first sustainability report which provides data-driven performance measurement for seven key sustainability metrics to help customers and consumers understand the company's environmental impact.

The first of its kind report shows data collected since 2005 from approximately 170 Sun Chemical sites in over 25 countries. The key sustainability metrics measured in the data include: energy consumption/conservation at production and non-production sites, the energy carbon footprint at the production sites, process waste reduction, water consumption, materials safety, and employee safety.

Providing a report that shows the ongoing management and monitoring of key sustainability metrics is an important part of Sun Chemical's recently updated sustainability policy that was introduced at Print '09.

"Sun Chemical's sustainability policy is different from other company policies and positioning because it is supported by data that goes far beyond that which is normally reported," said Gary Andrzejewski, Sun Chemical's corporate vice president of environmental affairs. "Our customers and the marketplace are looking for much more than the standard sustainability rhetoric. They want to know what their suppliers are doing to improve their sustainability performance. This sustainability report does just that with very specific metrics."

Sun Chemical has also initiated a project to analyze and manage the carbon footprint of its products. The project includes an assessment of eight different ink products manufactured at seven different facilities in the United States and Europe and is expected to be released during the first half of 2010. This assessment is conducted by ENVIRON International Corporation, a consultant with which Sun Chemical partners to offer its SunCare Environmental Services.

The first sustainability report is available to customers and can be requested online. Customers can also calculate the initial carbon footprint for their facility operations by visiting Sun Chemical's website.

www.sunchemical.com

www.sunchemical.com/suncare

Contra Vision started the see-though graphics industry in 1985 and claim to have a unique understanding built on nearly 25 years of experience. Contra Vision have invented and own the patents and other Intellectual Property for the widest range of see-through graphics technology, a portfolio of 25 inventions patented or patent-pending. These include the two “dominant patents” in this field.

Contra Vision are now offering a free definitive guide, which they claim is essential reading for anyone wanting to design, produce or sell see-through graphics.

Contra Vision’s guide includes sections on designing, selling and producing see-through graphics, and tips on how to choose appropriate materials. The guide explains how to produce see-through graphics that can be applied to the inside of a window, and even see-through graphics that can be backlit at night. It also explains about different levels of transparency, and how to produce see-through graphics using non-perforated, non-pvc materials.

Roland Hill, the inventor of see-through graphics and Chairman and Managing Director of Contra Vision says: “See-through graphics is a fast-growing market as advertisers, architects and interior designers become more aware of the opportunities and advantages on offer. Our guide explains about the different types of see-through graphics and how they can be produced. It contains tips on how to design good-looking see-through graphics, and how to avoid the pitfalls of incorrectly presenting see-though graphics to potential clients. We hope that it will be an invaluable aid to anyone involved in this exciting market.”

Contra Vision will send a free guide and further information to anyone who emails their name, company and address to guide@contravision.com

London, Paris, and New York are among the stops on the Hahnemühle Anniversary Collection's 2010 world tour of international photo capitals. The tour is scheduled to begin in Sydney, Australia on February 10th, and will then travel to Beijing, Berlin, Toronto, and Hong Kong. A special highlight of the tour will take place in Cologne, Germany at Photokina where the award winning images will be exhibited from September 21-26.

To help celebrate their 425th year of continuous paper mill operation, Hahnemühle created the Anniversary Photo Awards as an open, international photographic competition with an intriguing theme: 'For Originals.' The company was interested in having photographers present their unique visions of people, objects and atmospheres from the most original perspective possible. Nearly 1,800 photographers from 45 countries around the world sent in more than 7,100 entries. From these, an international panel of experts selected 43 to become part of the Hahnemühle Anniversary Collection.

"These extraordinary images represent a full range of photographic subjects," said Jörg Adomat, managing director, Hahnemühle. "From portraits and landscape to architecture and still life, this is a truly special exhibition. In addition, we have selected individual inkjet papers from the Hahnemühle Digital FineArt Collection that are particularly suitable; with regard to whiteness, structure, etc; to optimize the print presentation of each and every photograph."

For complete information on the judges, the winners and their images and up-to-the-minute tour dates, visit Hahnemühle's website and click on "Creative and Informative."

In order to inject maximum visual creativity to a global product launch at London’s Selfridges store, high-end fashion company, Lacoste, has commissioned graphics using unique Lumisty view control film from UK-based, Madico Graphic Films Ltd. The iconic French brand selected the versatile glazing enhancement film for its eye-catching capability of changing from translucent to transparent depending on the viewing angle. This enabled Lacoste to captivate passing pedestrians and channel their gaze towards exclusive window displays featuring the company’s latest Holiday Collector’s Series.

Lacoste’s promotional campaign at Selfridges forms part of the store’s Autumn/Winter 09 theme of “Evolution” and since their installation at the end of October, the Lumisty window graphics have, according to Lacoste, met their expectations in successfully capturing the attention of the public. “By acting as a window screen, Lumisty effectively conceals our polo shirt display until passers-by are directly in front of them, at which point the film becomes transparent and instantly draws their gaze towards the products”, explains Lacoste’s representative. “This changing visual effect worked incredibly well and has certainly achieved our aim of turning heads.”

“The success of this particular project underscores the creative possibilities of Lumisty in promotional retail and product display applications”, says Andy Voss, Managing Director of Madico Graphic Films Ltd. “Thanks to its unique attribute of controlling what can and cannot be seen, Lumisty offers a multitude of distinctive and practical uses and continues to make the product a huge hit among interior designers, marketers, architects and retail branding specialists.”

Lumisty forms part of Madico’s portfolio of UV and eco-solvent inkjet, and thermal transfer printable window films. This range is currently the largest available on the market and is 100% non-PVC. As with all of Madico’s ink-jet printable films, Lumisty is coated with defect-free, clean-room coated adhesives for superior optical performance and can be cut to shape using standard digital cutting technology.

Avery Dennison has introduced a helpful new dimension to its Graphics and Reflective Products division website: an online colour selector showing what is available in each of the self-coloured ranges of Avery Graphics self-adhesive films.

Signmakers and designers, as well as their clients, can see at a glance whether their needs in terms of colour combinations can be met from specific Avery Graphics self-coloured film ranges, such as the premium Avery 900 Super Cast products, available in no less than 83 standard colours.   At the same time, website visitors can check product performance capabilities with the relevant technical datasheets, also available online.

Says Bron Hekkema, sales director, Europe, for Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products:  'It's nice to be able to add a feature to our website that helps busy signmakers.   While of course the colour renditions on-screen can't precisely match the actual materials, they are a good guide.  A signmaker looking to specify self-adhesive films for a multi-colour signcutting job can see at a glance what's available — and then consult the appropriate Avery Graphics sample swatch'.