Taking Back Sustainability
Vycom, a subsidiary of The AZEK Company, is committed to stewarding sustainable practices, demonstrated by its substantial investment in recycling initiatives. At PRINTING United, Vycom will unveil its new PVC recycling program, intended to take back and recycle printed and unprinted PVC sheets, as well as scraps and drops from finishing and fabricating. This program provides an answer to the perpetual question ‘What do I do with my used signage and scrap?’ While the details are still being finalized, the program is designed for print service providers and end users to coordinate with an authorized distributor for drop-off or to collect used signage and scrap, which is returned to Vycom for recycling into the company’s PVC and HDPE products, ensuring these materials do not end up in landfills.
The AZEK Company and its subsidiaries continue to invest and innovate in sustainability. In October 2018, sister operation TimberTech opened a dedicated recycling plant in Ohio, which accepts post-consumer and post-industrial recycled polyethylene materials from retailers, waste management companies and municipalities for reprocessing into TimberTech deck boards. By the end of 2020, the Ohio plant will be able to demonstrate an annualized impact of waste materials being consumed in excess of 200 million pounds. In addition to recycling its own scrap, the primary Vycom manufacturing location in Pennsylvania processes recycled material at a current rate of more than 50 million pounds per year, which is then used in Vycom’s sheet products. All recycling is done in the U.S. for use in products produced by The AZEK Company and its subsidiaries.
New DigiLite to Join Celtec Family of Performance Signboard Products
Making its debut at the show, DigiLite utility PVC material is the latest addition to the Celtec signboard line, a premium PVC material that improves throughput in finishing, enabling print service providers to consistently and confidently produce high-value display graphics applications. The Celtec product family — including DigiLite, Woodgrain and Thick Gauge materials — is the most complete in range of thicknesses, finishes and gauges, for extruded PVC sheets available from a single manufacturer of 100% U.S.-made products.
DigiLite: all of the printing performance of Celtec premium signboard in a lightweight sheet
The Celtec DigiLite line provides comparable levels of quality and performance in an economical sheet that is lighter than Celtec premium signboard sheets. It is a good fit for a variety of fabrication processes including digital and screen printing; plus knife-cutting.
Consistent craftsmanship in manufacturing ensures print service providers always receive sheets with dependable quality. The substrate’s surface promotes superior ink adhesion, providing an increased yield of sellable prints. Celtec DigiLite sign materials offer superior UV performance and a finish that is ideal for value signage applications that require a high-quality surface such as point-of-purchase displays, indoor and outdoor signage, exhibits and more.
Woodgrain: durable wood alternative
Woodgrain material is a textured substrate that can be used to create signage and structures, offering a durable alternative to wood and an aesthetically pleasing alternative to painted or vinyl-covered surfaces. It is more weather, impact and insect resistant than wood, and will not warp, rot or split. It can be used to create restaurant menu boards, entertainment signage, interior décor, exhibits, wayfinding, campgrounds and park identity, and custom residential and business signage are all application ideas for Woodgrain sheets.
Thick Gauge: premium product now in thicker gauges
Thick Gauge material — available in gauges up to 38 millimeters (1.5 inches) — can be screen or digitally printed, routed, painted or varnished, and is a prime substrate for indoor or outdoor signage in high-traffic areas where performance dependability is key. This material offers a premium print surface that is more weather, impact and insect resistant than wood, and will not warp, rot or split. It is well-suited for outdoor applications such as monument or wayfinding signage, and can be used to create standoff lettering or as elements in select channel letter applications.