Green Alternatives in Digital Print
MJCP are always on the hunt for new and innovative ways to create eco-friendly signs with less environmental impact.
We strive to provide environmentally friendly commercial signs to our customers, by reducing our collective carbon footprint and using materials that are sustainably sourced and easier to recycle. We're delighted to provide eco aware businesses with a variety of sustainable signage solutions, including FSC certified sustainable timber signs, green acrylic signs and so much more.
Here, we are going to outline some of what we have on offer.
Sustainable Wood Signage
The first thing that always comes to mind is deforestation and its harmful effects on the environment. However, not all wood consumption needs to be harmful. But what makes it environmentally friendly?
This natural material can be used in eco-friendly signage that helps you reach your goals, as long as the wood is sourced sustainably. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organisation that promotes and supervises responsible forestry. FSC certified wood materials meet their stringent requirements, indicating that they do not contribute to deforestation and are thus environmentally benign.
What is the best way to use it for signage applications?
From big, eye-catching external signs like monoliths or storefronts to inside panelling or bespoke letters and emblems, wood and timber may be used in a variety of ways in signage.
Recyclable Aluminium
Aluminium is one of the most common materials for signage since it is both durable and lightweight. It's also one of the most environmentally friendly sign materials overall.
Aluminium is the most easily recyclable of all the materials we use in the large format print industry. It can be recycled an infinite number of times without losing its quality. It is a solid choice when compared to plastic, which can only be recycled once or twice before ending up in a landfill, damaging our environment. Aluminium can replace materials like foam board and correx signage, giving you a long lasting and higher quality alternative. If you apply vinyl lettering, it can also be removed and repurposed easily.
What is the best way to use it in signage?
Aluminium can be used in the construction of all sizes of signs, small to large. Aluminium's tremendous strength and durability, as well as its light weight contribute to this. Hoarding for construction, projecting signs, and Wayfinding signage are all examples of suitable applications, but in reality, the list is endless.
Greencast Acrylic
Acrylic has the brilliant characteristic of being able to be recycled indefinitely without ever losing its unique properties: you retain the same high quality optically, mechanically, and technically of cast acrylic sheets made from virgin raw material.
These cast acrylic sheets are made entirely from recycled raw materials (R-MMA). PMMA is a sturdy, noble plastic that is renowned for its transparency, processing ease, wide range of colours, and resilience. Again, it’s best feature is that it is sustainable and can be recycled back to its original basic ingredient, an organic solvent called MMA (Methyl Methacrylate). It can be used to replace more harmful plastics, and acrylic is one of the higher tier materials to use.
What is the best way to use it in signage?
Because acrylic is comparably more solid than any other sheet material, it is one of the best for signage applications. Acrylic sheets are used by many businesses for how great it looks. Acrylic has a glass-like texture that gives it a tidy, sophisticated appearance. Additionally, it provides an excellent surface for printing, engraving, vivid digitally printed imagery, numerous dimensions, and accurate Pantone colour matching.
Restaurants, retail, hotels, office fit-out and many other sectors often choose acrylic. People, including architects, doctors and shop owners, choose acrylic over other materials because of their fine finishing when designing nameplates and signage.
Polypropylene
Polypropylene is a good material for creating signage because it is durable, light, and very inexpensive. It's also beneficial if you want to make your signage a long-term installation.
By weight, polypropylene produces less solid waste than PET, PS, or PVC. It has the same rigidity, durability, and waterproof properties as plastic, but it does not include PVC. All of the advantages of PVC boards (such as Foamex), but none of the negative environmental consequences.
What is the best way to use it in signage?
Display boards, printed banners, and other types of signage are frequently made of polypropylene. Polypropylene's use in hoarding panels, in particular, has been a huge game-changer. Consider how many square metres of printed site hoarding end up in landfills each year. With these green alternatives, it no longer has to be this case.
Paper and Card based Materials
Last but not least, we have paper and cardboard on our list of environmentally friendly signage solutions. Though not typically used for permanent signage, these can be used in large format print and manufacturing for all kinds of indoor applications.
Paper is one of the world's most widely and easily recycled materials. To make it as sustainable as possible, you should use FSC-certified paper, just as you would with wood.
What is the best way to use it in signage?
There are certain limits to using paper and cardboard. Because they are not water-resistant, they cannot be used for outdoor signs. However, for indoor signage – particularly temporary signage – paper is an environmentally beneficial option.
Another advantage of using cardboard is that it is a relatively inexpensive and lightweight material. This is one of the reasons that you'll find a lot of cardboard signage hanging from the ceiling in supermarkets and retailers to inform customers about the latest deals and discounts. It’s easy to print, install, and recycle at the end of its life.
To discover more or if you're looking to develop a range of bespoke eco-friendly signs for your business, using our green sign options that will work with your brand, contact our team. You can even order one of our brand new sample packs by filling in the form below.
To contact us directly, please call on 020 7837 8666, or email at talk@mjcp.co.uk.
