Universal Products is a digital printer with over 20 years of experience in manufacturing and installing a variety of signage applications comprising banners, 3D posters, flanges and POS materials. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the company’s operations are spread across Pune, Rajkot, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Due to pressure from Kerala and Karnataka governments to use ecofriendly products, Universal has introduced the polyethylene (PE) banner namely EcoSigns for the digital signage industry. EcoSigns frontlit/backlit is a 100% recyclable media in the digital signage industry. It is a high performance digital print media, remarkably lightweight and very durable. This high quality substance replaces poly vinyl chloride (PVC) billboards and banners. It is compatible with all eco solvent and UV cured inks. Suitable for an extensive range of indoor and outdoor signage applications like banners, sign boards, dealer boards and point of sale displays, EcoSigns are available in 90, 150 and 200 gsm with widths of 40, 50 and 60 inches.
Dipen Mehta, director of Universal says, “In the last 25 years, the digital signage industry has grown a lot with the use of PVC banners. Currently we are facing an environmental crisis and to tackle this challenge we have come up with eco-friendly substrates.”
Speaking about the cost and quality of EcoSigns, Mehta says, “Chinese-based low grade PVC and Star flex (another form of PVC) are the major polymer substrates consumed in the signage industry. Star flex is consumed to provide good quality print but EcoSigns offer better print quality at the same cost thus avoiding the need for any additional equipment or process. The waste of PE substrates at Universal is supplied to Wealth Out of Waste (WOW) launched by ITC to enhance recycling of garbage.”
Talking about the reason for coming up with a substitute for PVC, Mehta says, “In 1990 we took the initiative to print on a polymer substrate using the offset process. The substrate was corona treated and the trials for printing on the polymer substrate took almost two years. Moreover, we manufactured commercial products such as PE bags and developed a method to print on PE polymers.”
