Alsace-France based Senfa will be present at Drupa 2016 in Düsseldorf and the main message this year is resumed in its strap line “change the way of print, use textiles”.
For years, Drupa has been the world leading show for print and paper - in fact the name “Drupa” comes from the merging of the German words “Druck und Papier” – “Print and Paper”. However, since the first Drupa 65 years ago, printing techniques and media used have changed beyond recognition. The large format digital print sector has been growing significantly since the pioneering days of the 1990s and with it the multitude of media used. Large format printers initially printed on to paper and then with the development of inks and technologies suitable for outdoor use, PVC products have become the norm. However, environmental concerns are causing people to think twice about printing large quantities of PVC for short-term use before ending up in landfill.
At the same time, textile coating companies like Senfa have been developing more environmentally friendly textiles. All of the textiles in the Decoprint range are woven or knitted locally in Europe and coated in Alsace, Eastern France. They weigh a lot less than equivalent PVC products so the carbon-footprint is much reduced during transport. The flagship product for indoor backlit applications, Pearl is manufactured to the very stringent Oeko-Tex standard and in July 2015 Senfa was awarded the AFAQ eco-design label in recognition of its eco-design management system. In November 2015, Senfa inaugurated a multi-million Euro 5 meter coating line to cope with increased demand for this width so even printers with the widest machines can benefit from environmentally friendlier textiles.
While the environment is important, the bottom line is that this is the visual communication industry and esthetics count. Many of the creative people in the advertising industry believe that textiles simply look better than PVC so the combination of nicer prints, punchier colours, cheaper transport, and more environmentally friendly supports means that visitors to this years Drupa will have more than just “Print and Paper” to contemplate.
The Senfa-Decoprint stand is in Hall 6, stand C39.
