Is Using Synthetic Paper More Eco-Friendly Than Lamination?

When looking to increase the durability of your print media, lamination was long considered the mountaintop of protection.

While the material and equipment costs of the traditional two-step lamination process were once a deterrent in choosing lamination over synthetic paper, the environmental impact of using lamination has arrived as the key detractor for choosing lamination as robust sustainability initiatives have become the norm across nearly every industry.

This leaves end users and printers alike with an important question: Are there sustainable alternatives to traditional laminates that offer the same degree of substrate strength and protection?

The short answer is yes, and, here, we’ll look at a couple of ways choosing sustainably manufactured synthetic paper can provide superior protection for your print media in a more eco-friendly way.

Synthetic paper is manufactured to be 100% recyclable. While some laminates can be recycled and reused for other purposes, the process involves removing the laminate from the substrate, which is a time-consuming and costly process. This means choosing synthetic paper streamlines the repurposing process and eliminates cost-related barriers to entry, while also reducing the amount of waste in the landfill pipeline.

Waterproof, tear-free and weather-resistant synthetic papers can be manufactured without the need for petrochemicals, liquid phenols and a variety of other chemical components that are used in the manufacturing of paper laminates. The lack of these components combined with the ability to repurpose synthetic polyester paper makes it a more sustainable option for a wide range of applications like menus, maps, manuals and catalogs, direct mail, door hangers and more.
more at: https://blog.nekoosa.com/is-using-synthetic-paper-more-eco-friendly-than-lamination