Innovia Films Partners with BOBST to Produce Range of PVC-Free Films

Innovia Films, forerunner in sustainable graphic arts films and global manufacturer of specialty BOPP packaging and labeling solutions has committed to a major investment and partnered with BOBST to produce a brand-new range of PVC-free films. 
 
There is a large consumer demand, industry sustainability pledges, initiatives, and innovations for alternative solutions to non-recyclable flexible packaging. Additionally, PVC-based media for graphic arts applications has a growing interest in eco-friendly alternatives. Innovia already produces PVC-free film for wide format (digital) printing with a solution for fostering circulatory by broadening its sustainable graphic arts film potential. 
 
Innovia’s technical team has worked closely with BOBST at Bobst Italia’s Competence Center for two years to specify the design of BOBST’s new coating line. The capabilities of the BOBST LEONARDO pilot coating line used for the R&D trials and tests were central to the project development. 
 
The BOBST coating line will be customized to Innovia’s specifications and be installed in their site in Wigton, UK with full production to start in early 2025. 
 
“Our new PVC- free product range was developed internally but we had to find the right equipment and technology to be able to industrialize it and deliver upon our stringent requirements and specifications,” said Innovia’s surface engineering manager Steven Maude. “We supplied the substrate, the coating material, and the product we wanted the achieve for BOBST to design a machine that could manufacture these new materials with the required quality, efficiency, and profitability.”
 
Different iterations of tests were performed to determine design specifications. Tests were carried out at in-house laboratories at BOBST and Innovia to ensure the new PVC-free products meet the durability and printability required for commercial applications. Coated reels were tested for printability on wide-web digital printers using techniques used in graphic arts applications – UV, ecosolvent, and latex – at Innovia’s R&D Centre in Wigton, UK. 
 
BOBST had to deliver on Innovia’s requirement of a coating machine capable of offering flexibility of changeover speeds and web widths to enable width-to-order production runs and minimize downtime and waste of materials. 
 
Maude added, “the key point with the LEONARDO coating line is that is enables trials to be carried out on a machine that is directly representative in terms of technology, width and line speed. This was a string element for making the decision of going ahead with a project that required a significant investment on our part.”
 
This new wider range of PVC-free high quality graphics applications offers an option that reduces the environmental impact of their wide format printing products. 
 
“There is no doubt that a change is needed in this segment of the graphic arts industry to make it more sustainable and in the end recyclable. So, there is a requirement for change but to further motivate the market to move towards alternatives to PVC, these must offer similar performance characteristics, be economically viable, and be suitable for the required applications,” Maude concluded.