SubscribePlaspro and Company is a family-run independent supplier of polypropylene (PP) offering quality materials coupled with reliable service and competitive pricing structures.
This is achieved by the company forming partnerships with its suppliers. "This ensures quality materials reach our customers when they need them and to the standards they expect," says Plaspro managing director Roger Whitten.
The company offers a broad range of products in PP, but has geared itself primarily to supply the packaging and printing industries. Packaging supplied to customers ranges from PP for adhesive tapes and ‘Document enclosed’ wallets, to PP boxes for food, cosmetics and other consumables.
Since PP was first introduced in the 1950s, production has grown at a rapid pace and the company has taken full advantage of this. "Due to its unique combination of low cost and high performance, PP has become the most widely used polymer in the world," says Roger Whitten. PP also enjoys significant economic advantages over other competing materials. "Its low specific weight, modern processing techniques and the use of cost effective raw materials make PP the natural alternative," says Mr Whitten. The company has witnessed more and more companies choosing to use PP in their converting operations.
The company offers both rigid and flexible PP options including many for the point of sale market. Historically, point of sale products have been displayed in printed laminated card, but then moved on to PVC. Environmental concerns led to PET becoming the preferred material of choice but, today, PP is more than holding its own in this market.
Developments to improve the clarity of PP means that it is becoming more and more popular and, because it is more cost effective, it is slowly eating away at the PET market. Many products are now supplied to retailers in printed PP boxes giving an eye catching, recyclable alternative to its more expensive predecessors. PP is converted more easily and innovations in pre-primed substrates mean that printing has never been easier, says Plaspro.
Innovations in pre-primed substrates mean that printing has never been easier
"We can now prime PP in-line which means you can print directly on to the substrate without the need for special or expensive inks," says Mr Whitten. The primer also gives the added advantage of an extended shelf life and complies with all recognised European codes and food standards. "When primer is applied to our Triple Gloss substrates it effectively eliminates ‘blocking’, a problem associated with the printing and converting of glossy polymer substrates," explains Mr Whitten. "This, coupled with the low density of PP makes it the perfect environmentally friendly and cheaper alternative to PETg and PVC."
In the flexible packaging market, Plaspro is currently supplying many tonnes of cast polypropylene (CPP) to converters producing bags. These bags are supplied to supermarkets for produce such as lettuce, grapes and bananas. Additionally, many of its customers supply printed or plain bags with an adhesive strip for packaging textiles such as shirts and jumpers.
A growing number of publishers are packing magazines into printed CPP bags to ensure free gifts arrive safely and undamaged. Publishers are also taking advantage of metallised CPP printed bags to make its magazines look more eye-catching on shelf, while not giving away the whole story. Magazines such as FHM and GQ have used these opportunities to good effect.
CPP bags are also finding favour in the direct mail market. Companies sending out a mail shot in CPP bags which have been either printed, metallised or a combination of both, know that their potential customers are getting a quality bag. The bags offer security as they do not rip but also add interest with effective designs.
A large part of the printing and packaging industries requires small quantities or fast turn- around of orders for bespoke widths. As it is not viable to produce small quantities and ship from Germany, Plaspro has teamed up with SJA Film Technologies Ltd.
SJA FilmTech holds large stocks of ‘mill rolls’ to service this bespoke market. "This also makes our production facilities more cost effective, ensuring competitive pricing all round and means we can deliver full container loads either to the customer, or SJA FilmTech, to hold and slit on demand," says Mr Whitten.
Plaspro’s substrates can be printed using a variety of methods including offset and conventional lithography, flexography and screen-printing. Clear, anti-reflective, translucent and opaque grades are available in many different colours and embossing patterns. As Roger Whitten says: "Our films are used for an almost endless variety of applications."
Plaspro believes that PP has become the first choice for film converters and end users because of its low cost, ease of fabrication and unique properties. "The list of success stories continues to grow as raw material suppliers create different material properties and our engineers and scientists develop new and innovative films to support the technologies of the future," says Mr Whitten.
To support its range of high quality PP films, the company also offers customers technical support and product development where required.
Plaspro supply Polypropylene to the packaging, printing and stationery trade either from UK stocks or direct from the mills. We can match most requests offering speedy deliveries, especially for the textile and magazine packaging markets in standard CPP or Metalized CPP. Below is an out-line of finished products our customers have produced with our films.....
Proclear Films
Finished articles include:
- Sheet protectors, L-pockets
- Slip covers for photos, slides, CD’s
- DVD case covers
- Video box covers
- Ring binder and ID pockets
- Translucent indexes
- Lotto ticket covers
Procustom Films
Finished articles include:
- Printed banner
- POP film
- Label film
- Mouse pad film
- POS bags – textile/magazine
Proplast Films
Finished articles include:
- Lever arch files
- Ring binders
- Signature folders
Propaque Films
Finished articles include:
- Prime-EX
- Art-EX
- Print-EX
Please contact us for your customised film
TOP PAK – Professional packaging material for folding boxes/cartons for point of sale.
DURALON – High rigidity PP sheets and rolls for the printing industry. Signage, games, plant tags.
SOFT FEEL – The non-slip products for office and promotional use. Place mats, mouse mats, desk mats etc.
Triple G – With ‘No more blocking’ it’s the perfect replacement for Gloss clear PVC and PETG subtrates.