Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: trade show booths, trade show displays, trade show exhibits, trade show graphics
MODdisplays, a company specializing in trade show displays and exhibit graphics, has returned to the spotlight with the ability to sell eco-friendly graphics for their entasi displays. Many trade show display companies use solvent printers, which are horrible for the environment, but for a small upcharge you can have your entasi display printed using responsible means. The graphic production process produces a graphic called “GreenKnit”, which is a great way to help the environment.
There are hundreds of thousands of trade show graphics printed around the world each year, many of which immediately end up in the trash due to errors in printing and/or laminating by inexperienced printers. Changing the way graphics are printed could have a huge impact on the health of our environment, and MODdisplays realizes this fact. GreenKnit graphics are the first step in a process that will allow graphics to be printed more responsibly.
Green Knit can be used for structures, such as custom projects, Shapes and Entasi, and also for banners. Green Knit can be printed using our state of the art Photo Fabric printing process.
Sixty percent of the yarn used in making Green Knit is one hundred percent recycled. Seven carbon producing manufacturing steps are eliminated in the production of the recycled yarn. For every pound of yarn produced 61,000 BTU’s are conserved (equivalent to .5 gallons of gasoline).
The introduction of this fabric is another example of MODdisplays commitment to environmental responsibility. MODdisplays is proud of its many initiatives in this area that include:
- Our Photo Fabric Dye-Sublimation printing is produced without the use of solvent inks.
- All aluminum scrap is recycled at our three manufacturing plants.
- All paper, cardboard and shipping tubes are recycled at our three plants.
- MODdisplays offers a rental program – encouraging our customers to rent rather than buy and discard after limited use.
- The Belfast plant uses BioHeat instead of standard heating oil.
- The Salt Lake City plant uses swamp coolers instead of air conditioners.
The Step-Up Program provides a progression businesses can follow to become environmentally sustainable and to become leaders in the business community.
You can read more about this photo printing process by visiting the Trade Show Marketing Blog and reading about trade show graphics. You can also read about the top trade show products MODdisplays sells.
Filed under: Business Practices | Tags: environment, planet earth, trade show displays, trade show exhibits
There are plenty of reasons to consider environmental factors when planning for your next exhibit. If your industry is not traditionally linked with environmental movements, having a “green exhibit” is a great way to stand out from the crowd. Add to that the fact that you’re doing your part to make the world a better place, and you’ll feel less guilty for blowing your competition out of the water. Here are ten tips for going green at your next exhibit.
Building a booth? Use eco-friendly materials. If you’re building a custom booth this year, you have several options for greener materials. First, try to avoid wood. The earth’s forests are nearly 80% depleted, and that’s bad news for our atmosphere. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen-so they may be our first line of defense against global warming. Leave a few trees standing by choosing another material to build your booth.
One more eco-friendly choice is recycled metal. While this may not seem like the most biodegradable choice, it’s much better than using non-recycled metals. For example, the process of recycling aluminum takes about 95% less energy than it does to create new aluminum from ore. Recycling steel uses about 60% less energy than making it from scratch.
Another option is wood/plastic composite. This building material is made up of sawdust from lumber and furniture companies mixed with fragments of plastic trash, such as soda bottles and garbage bags. There are many different brands, and the wood comes in colors ranging from deep ambers to espresso browns-as beautiful as natural wood, without the environmental price tag.
Consider your paints. Oil and latex-based paints are toxic to the environment-they contain poisonous chemicals that can’t be removed at a treatment plant. Leftover paint is often poured down the drain, and it gets into oceans and waterways. It also leaches from painted items in landfills, further damaging the environment. Even worse, VOC’s-volatile organic chemicals, such as cyanide-in paint evaporate at room temperature, contributing to global warming while coating your booth.
Instead of traditional paints, look for non-VOC paints made by big-name paint manufacturers such as Sherman Williams and Behr. Other eco-friendly paints are made from talcum powder, clay, and chalk.
Get green giveaways. When looking for a good giveaway item, choose with an eye toward minimizing trash. Avoid items that come in plastic packaging. Avoid plastic altogether, in fact, unless it’s recycled. Good ideas include cotton or hemp tote bags, food in recycled-paper wrapping instead of plastic, recycled plastic Frisbees, pens and other items, and ceramic mugs. Stay away from plastic bags, wood, and non-recycled materials.
Use energy-efficient lighting. Incandescent light bulbs are notoriously inefficient. They emit only 10% of the energy they use as light. The rest is given off as heat-which is why these bulbs can catch your lampshade on fire if you’re not careful. Instead, use fluorescent bulbs. These are much more energy efficient.
Use recycled paper. There are a lot of paper products involved in a typical exhibit: business cards, signs and displays, brochures and promotional materials. Why not use recycled paper? While most people think of rough, textured and off-white paper when it comes to buying recycled, there are many companies that make smooth, bright-white papers that are comparable to virgin papers.
Consider green printing. Some inks can be as toxic as paint. You can go green with your printing by choosing a green printer. Not all are created equally; their commitment to green printing can range from using energy-efficient operating procedures to printing with soy-based inks on recycled papers. Be sure to shop around when looking for eco-friendly printers.
Talk to your vendor. Some booth vendors are more eco-friendly than others. Some may operate under environmentally mindful conditions-using alternative energy and energy-efficient practices, for example-while others may have pre-fabricated booths built from eco-friendly materials. Be sure to ask your vendor for more advice on how you can create a green display for your next exhibit.
Going green doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. While you may have to buy a custom booth to go green, recycled and eco-friendly materials sometimes cost less than their non-recycled alternatives. Talk to your vendor, research your options, and take your time in designing an approach to green exhibiting that works for your company. No matter how far you go with it-from using recycled papers to building an entire booth from eco-friendly materials-you’ll be making a positive contribution.
