ECO-SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: A MUST-HAVE CONCEPT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
There is an increasing tendency to design products and processes to be as sustainable as possible, especially in the retail sector.
There are plenty of options when it comes to presenting products efficiently, intelligently and effectively at the point of sale, but what about the issue of sustainability?
After many years of development, KATZ may not be the first company to offer an eco-friendly alternative for top-quality signage, tent cards and other POS display solutions – but it could well be one of the most innovative.
At their core, KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS consist of nothing more than wood and water. They also bear the PEFC label which gives users the reassurance of knowing that the wood used in this product comes exclusively from sustainably managed forests.
KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS are typically laminated with satin paper and are available in different sizes and in thicknesses ranging from 1.2 mm to 3.0 mm.
The methods used to turn KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS into finished products are carefully chosen to ensure that the printed, laminated wood pulp board can be fed back into the KATZ production process after use. Non-laminated boards can even be composted.
So in terms of sustainability, the benefits offered by KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS are obvious. But there are many other good reasons to choose this product, including low weight and correspondingly low transport costs as well as good flatness. It is also simple to laminate – so simple that this step can even be performed by the customer.
THE BOTTOM LINE? HOW EASY THE MATERIAL IS TO PRINT AND CUT
UV flatbed printers such as those made by HP, INCA Screen, CANON OCE and ARIZONA produce outstanding results when used with KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS. This has been confirmed by live tests carried out at trade fairs such as DRUPA 2012 in Düsseldorf and FESPA 2013 In London. In addition, KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS have now been incorporated in the HP Media Solutions Locator, which enables customers worldwide to find the right graphic media solution for their needs.
Even the printing press manufacturer KBA has confirmed in writing that the 1.2 mm thick KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS "can be printed on all KBA's large and medium-format RAPIDA offset presses without any technical problems whatsoever".
Further live tests are planned for viscom 2013 in Düsseldorf in order to give visitors first-hand experience of the outstanding printability of this eco-friendly substrate.
Just as important is the superb quality of the clear, sharp edges produced when cutting KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS. This has been demonstrated in a number of projects carried out in cooperation with ESKO, a global supplier and integrator of software and hardware for packaging design, and Zünd, a developer and manufacturer of modular precision cutters and tool heads.
Various cutting patterns and samples have already been successfully employed at exhibitions and at KATZ product presentations.
For the KATZ Group, these outstanding characteristics have already led to positive market sentiment. KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS have been successfully launched in the USA, Japan, the UK and France and initial test assignments are currently underway in Russia.
To help facilitate access to KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS for customers who wish to purchase less than the current minimum order of five tons, the company is busy working on ways of making the material available to smaller businesses.
WE PRODUCE BOARDS, NOT UNWELCOME SIDE-EFFECTS
"We use a manufacturing process which fully adheres to the principles of sustainability," says KATZ Group CEO Daniel Bitton.
A closed loop recycling system ensures that old KATZ boards are always recycled into new KATZ boards. The company's state-of-the-art heat recovery system and its two very own water power plants ensure maximum energy efficiency, while its closed water loop helps conserve resources. All the wood used in the production process comes from sustainably managed forests. And in terms of acquiring raw materials and enhancing added value, transportation routes are kept as short as possible – because protecting nature is a top priority.
