By adding Kavalan PVC-free banner materials to its range, Pubblicità & Stampa has expanded its wide-format department, driven the company’s growth and led the way in sustainability across Italy.

Based in Modugno, Italy, and founded in 1979 by Guido De Bartolo, Pubblicità & Stampa was established with a clear purpose: to support companies in their growth and communication through print. Fast forward almost 50 years and the company operates from a 3,000sq/m premises, where the 21-strong team produces a range of print work including commercial print, point-of-sale, retail display graphics and signage, and more, using a diverse mix of technologies.

In 2020, Pubblicità & Stampa entered a period of significant growth, investing heavily in new equipment, including two high-performance printers that enable greater precision and versatility, broadening the company’s offering whilst expanding its reach beyond southern Italy to customers in Rome, Milan and elsewhere in the country.

According to Beppe De Bartolo, CEO and Digital Printing Manager at Pubblicità & Stampa, this period of growth was accelerated when the business identified and embraced the market trend towards sustainable and recycled materials, which is gaining momentum across Italy and wider Europe.

The company was already strengthening its sustainability credentials, having incorporated green practices across many areas of the business through initiatives such as using FSC-certified papers and UL GREENGUARD GOLD-certified UV inks for large-format digital printing; and utilising solar panels to power its production presses. Having been introduced to Kavalan’s PVC-free materials by Polyedra in 2024, and in response to growing customer demand for sustainable signage materials, Pubblicità & Stampa has further strengthened its commitment to sustainability by adding Kavalan Sunlight TAICHI and Sunlight Weldable materials to its product range.

Kavalan’s PVC-free banner materials are designed with end-of-life disposal in mind, preventing harmful toxins from being released into the air or soil during incineration or when sent to landfill. All Kavalan PVC-free materials also hold Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) certifications that confirm Kavalan’s superior environmental performance compared to traditional PVC banner materials. Partnering with Kavalan to offer its customers PVC-free digitally printed materials was a natural step in Pubblicità & Stampa’s evolution and expansion.

Discussing how Pubblicità & Stampa has utilised PVC-free options for a range of projects, De Bartolo says: “We’ve used lighter materials and materials suitable for various applications, including black-back products that are more opaque and ideal for displays where you don’t want any light to show through from behind. It’s quite a broad range, and this is definitely something that people appreciate.” As for how these new PVC-free alternatives have been received by Pubblicità & Stampa’s customers, De Bartolo says that flexibility is key when introducing new products: “It was mainly about managing the materials. Some clients want materials that behave differently, particularly for mounting on various surfaces such as walls, so flexibility is key. The market is quite sensitive to these issues.”

According to De Bartolo, some segments of the Italian market are more aware of the benefits of PVC-free alternatives than others. He says that some customers “are still not ready or don’t really care yet.” Despite this, De Bartolo explains that the key difference between PVC and PVC-free products is performance. Kavalan’s PVC-free materials offer the same durable, high-quality properties as traditional PVC materials, and in many cases, as De Bartolo explains, PVC-free materials actually perform better than their PVC counterparts.

“The key difference lies in performance. For example, on larger surfaces such as metal or wooden panels, the PVC-free materials respond better to temperature changes, whether hot or cold. There is already a wide range of materials available, offering improvements not only in terms of environmental impact, but also in terms of colour consistency and the final look and feel of the product.”

Nova Abbott, Head of Marketing at Kavalan, adds: “It’s fantastic to see companies such as Pubblicità & Stampa leading the sustainability drive away from harmful PVC banner materials and towards more sustainable choices. As a result, the benefits of these alternatives are becoming more widely recognised across the entire Italian market, and the path to a more sustainable future for the print industry is clear to see.”