Considering fire safety, health issues and recyclability in large format banners
Walki’s product family for large format banners has grown with a flame-retardant option.
Large format banners are typically used for outdoors signage and advertising as well as for indoor use in public areas such as school, trade fairs and shopping centres. For advertisers, sustainability has long been a priority, and Walki has answered to this need with its Walki®Print Media XXL portfolio featuring a wide range of environmentally sound, PVC-free billboard and banner solutions for use both in- and outdoors.
Now Walki has added a flame-retardant option to its portfolio: Walki®Billboard Stretch 110 FR has passed Euroclass B-s1, d0 fire tests, meaning that the banner’s risk of contributing to fire is very limited. This is good news as a fire in a shopping mall might get out of hand very quickly. Using flame-retardant materials can play a decisive role in slowing down a fire, or even better: hinder it from occurring in the first place.
More regulation for fire safety
Legislators are increasingly tightening the regulation for fire safety in public areas.
“Flame retardancy is becoming a mandatory requirement for banners used indoors in a growing number of countries,” explains Luk Meys, Walki’s Global Category Manager, Imaging.
By making a standard polymer-based product flame retardant, chemicals that stop, slow down or extinguish the ignition in the event of a fire are added to the material mix. Since these substances could potentially affect the pureness of Walki’s sustainable banner materials, a balance must be struck between controlling the level of flame-retardant chemicals used to maintain the recyclability properties, while complying with all the relevant fire safety requirements.
Fire safety and sustainable
To meet the industry requirements, Walki has worked closely with its ecosystem of internal and external experts and suppliers within fire retardance to ensure that the materials are not only safe from a health point of view but also when it comes to the post-consumer recycling process.
“Safety and recyclability are two sides of the same coin, and, at Walki, we don’t believe one should ever be prioritised at the expense of the other. Our Walki®Print Media XXL range is proof of this commitment,” Meys says.
All flame-retardant components used by Walki are halogen free and compliant with today’s international health and safety regulations.