Launched at Ipex on 31 October, the BOPP gloss laminating film joins the Chinese-headquartered manufacturer’s range of thermal laminating films, wet films and lenticular products, with price dependent on volumes and specification.

Available in 18μm gloss and 20μm matt thicknesses, the product is ideal for folding, creasing and other finishing applications, and KDX Europe says it exhibits “excellent burst properties” and has low static characteristics to enhance production efficiency.

After a lengthy development period in which the product was tested at two unnamed UK beta sites, according to KDX UK sales manager Jonathan Collett, the product is intended for higher-volume printers with heavy-duty laminators.  

“We’ve tailored it quite heavily at a couple of sites to make sure the product is as good as it absolutely can be, and covered all eventualities, so we’ve been doing that and the idea is that we launched as a product to develop and help people mainly in the UK,” said Collett. 

“If you imagine when your sheet goes through the laminators and it comes out the other end, what you can end up with is a tail on the film; you end up with a bit of a ski ramp on the pallet. The flatter and more level the pallet is the better it is at going through the next production phase. 

“A lot of our films are good on that because they are made in a slightly different way, the 'bursting effect'. We have to be competitive and offer products at the same prices as others in the market but we like to think we offer something a little bit different, a little bit extra with our film on quality.”

The film is also intended for trade finishers and it joins KDX’s two other expanded gloss and matt ranges, the other two of which are at higher thicknesses.

KDX Europe general manager Michel Diruy described the BOPP product as "ground-breaking" but said that the group recommends higher micron films for heavy ink coverage.

KDX Europe, which has a 20-staff outpost in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, from which products are distributed to the UK nightly, has a network of logistics and warehouse operations across Europe, and it is now considering opening its first UK warehouse. 

“Volumes have grown and business has grown and we’re now looking to potentially invest in a warehouse in the next year or so,” added Collett.