Recycled wet-laid for new prints

In an interesting new development at the point where engineered papers meet textiles, Teijin, headquartered in Osaka, Japan, has developed a water-resistant printing substrate made entirely from its Ecopet recycled polyester fibres derived from used PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles.

As a polyester material, this wet-laid nonwoven is highly water resistant compared to conventional pulp-derived paper and is not easily torn when wet, making it ideal for use in outdoor or wet locations. Potential applications envisaged include hazard maps, triage tags and other outdoor materials, outdoor posters and labels and price tags for fresh or frozen foods.

The new material is as thin as conventional printing paper, so it can even be used normally in regular laser printers with no need for manual feed. And unlike conventional water-resistant printing paper made from film, it enables easy scoring and gluing and can be written on with pens or pencils.

As a nonwoven fabric made by the same method as machine-made Japanese paper, it is said to offer levels of flexibility and texture not achievable with film-based printing paper.