We've all seen those awful pictures on television of plastic bottles left floating in the sea and turtles with carrier bags in their mouths, after which we are left wondering what on earth we can do to put a stop to plastic pollution.
Between five and 13 million tons of plastic are leaked into the oceans every year, with an astonishing 91% of plastic waste not being recycled. As is the case with all other industries, print has a major role to play in not only reducing the amount of plastic waste produced by the industry, but also inventing ways to reuse and repurpose recycled plastic in innovative ways.
HP is at the forefront of this effort and is fiercely dedicated to environmental protection efforts. This has led to the creation of a new product in the form of HP Recycled Satin Canvas, a printable canvas made from 100% recycled water bottles retrieved from the ocean during organised clean-ups.
Crucially, HP Recycled Satin Canvas is entirely compliant with the REACH European Commission standard for the protection of human health and the environment, making it eligible for return through the HP Large-Format Media take-back programme. It offers a more eco-conscious media solution for printers around the world and, for customers in the UK, approved HP reseller Perfect Colours has recently set up a new website dedicated to the product.
On the launch of the new portal, Jason Burroughs, Managing Director of Perfect Colours, explains: "We are passionate about our environment and want to ensure products such as these, no matter who creates them, are marketed to help promote a better tomorrow.
"Rarely does such a truly ground-breaking product come along. This new media, made from raw materials reclaimed from the ocean, is certainly in line with our environmental goals as a business. The product is unique. As such, we've created a bespoke website to give our customers the opportunity to learn more about it - and purchase it - online."
While the obvious advantage of using HP Recycled Satin Canvas is that it allows printers to offer their customers a more sustainable solution, there are plenty of other benefits. HP Recycled Satin Canvas is lower priced than most like-for-like media, offering printers cost savings in addition to environmental benefits. Also, while the new canvas does not feature any coatings, which can often be costly and potentially harmful to the environment, it does have a professional textured satin finish for extremely high print quality.
A durable media that resists edge cracking when stretched, the canvas produces outstanding image quality and precise colours on a bright white, slightly textured, satin-finish canvas, and is suitable for print applications such as photo enlargements, reproductions and retail, corporate and hospitality décor.
There has already been plenty of interest in the product according to Jason Burroughs. He continues: "The new eco-conscious HP Recycled Satin Canvas media and our supporting website has been very well received. We have already had several enquiries from customers."
By creating this new product - and with Perfect Colours' support - HP is stopping thousands and thousands of water bottles from further polluting the oceans and turning them into a new product that itself can be recycled and used again in a new form.
Jason concludes: "Of course, the actual impact that this one recycling scheme will have on ocean pollution is just part of the solution. However, when combined with other similar ideas and initiatives, we really can have a positive impact on the environment."
To learn more about HP Recycled Satin Canvas, please click here
