Minimal material application.
Maximal effect on sustainability.
Dry. Emission-free. Highly efficient.
Sustainable production as an
international benchmark
Valuable. Harmless. Recyclable.
Hot stamping is characterized by its fundamental enviroment compatibility. Wafer-thin aluminum and lacquer layers (the decoration) are transferred from a thin PET carrier to a substrate during the printing process. The carrier is removed. The decorative layer remains on the substrate.
Cold trasfer (sheet fed and web fed) also involves transferring very thin aluminium and laquer layers (the decoration) to a substrate. However, an printed adhesive is also applied. once hardened, the carrier is removed from the substrate. The metallic decoration remains on the parts of the substrate braring adhesive.
Our innovative Digital Metal® transfer process is a particularly versitate way to achieve your desired finish.
The DM-JETLINER® enables you to apply metallization effects to paper and label materials seamlessly inline inside your digital printer prior to digital color printing. Once the PET carrier has been removed, the metallic finish can be overprinted in the machine.
The DM-LUXLINER® applies metallization to paper and cardboard after digital color printing, therefore expanding the range of finish options.
The transfer process itself is emission-free. No wet lacquers are used. As the decorative layer being transferred is so thin, its application uses less energy per m2 of finished surface than normal finishing procedures.
Hot stamping is characterized by its fundamental enviroment compatibility. Wafer-thin aluminum and lacquer layers (the decoration) are transferred from a thin PET carrier to a substrate during the printing process. The carrier is removed. The decorative layer remains on the substrate.
KURZ transfer technology does not use a laminate, so there is no foil left behind on the product. The surface finishing process is by transfer only. Therefore, packaging decorated using KURZ transfer technology is verifiably deinkable, compostable, and recyclable. How is this achieved? By applying the thinnest amount of material possible.
The aluminum layers that are transferred onto the substrate in our dry finishing process are just 0.02 μm thick. That makes them 6,000 times thinner than a human hair.
Paper and cardboard packaging decorated using KURZ transfer technology is fully processable by means of existing collection, sorting and recycling methods. Products with a KURZ finish can be recycled and composted at any sorting facility without additional hassle.
The carrier foil is made of PET, and is free from hazardous substances, even when carrying dry residual lacquer from the coting process. It remains a raw material in terms of the industrial waste cycle, making re-use easier.
Energetic recovery: The majority or our scrap transfer carriers are currently used to create energy. The PET carriers can be kept as secondary fuel for energy recovery plants. Their high heating value means that tehy can be used to fire specially equipped facilities that normaly run on gas, coal or oil. PET carriers are a popular replacement for fossil fuels in many industrial sectors.
Landfill as an exception: Depending on users' commitment to sustainability, remains of our PET carriers do sometimes end up in landfill. This is, of course, not the most sustainable solution. However, PET does not release emissions or pose a danger to soil or groundwater.
After many years of development, we have managed to develop a process for which the world's very first recycling plant for KURZ transfer foil wastage has been put into operation.
In-depth expertise gainded from our plastic segment was especially helpful in developing this process. Our plant now enables us to produce recyclate as well as raw materials for PET polymerization.
Currently we are gradually establishing a take-back system for our PET backing films and are, thus, the first manufacturer in the world to close the recycling loop for transfer foils.
KURZ transfer decoration is applied to extremely thin PET carriers (max. 12 μm) for efficient processing. Through continuous further development in machine technology, in particular through foil saving systems, foil consumption is successively reduced. New PET carrier materials will soon be available, which will further reduce the amount of residual material considerably.
1 m² LUXOR®-cold-transfer foil can be manufactured with an energy input of approximately 15 W/m². Thus for this transfer foil, by applying surplus regenerative heat in the manufacturing process, by generating on-site solar-energy and purchasing green electricity, our environment is impacted with only 1.5g CO2-equivalent/m².
We recover the solvents used after the lacquering process from the exhaust air and use them to generate heat and energy in our production facilities. Thanks to our regenerative heat and energy plants, we are able to achieve efficiency levels of up to 95%. This system also enables us to stay 85% below the emission values allowed by law.
Step by step, we are getting closer to our aim of a CO2-neutral production process. For example, 100% of the electricity used at KURZ Germany comes from renewable sources. We generate some of the energy ourselves using solar panels.
DIN ISO 14001 – the international environmental management standard, forms the international benchmark for the manufacture of our transfer products. All of our factories are relevantly certified, and we work according to a strict, customized environmental management system. Integrating energy management standard ISO 50001 also helps us to increase our awareness of sustainable and energy-efficient processes within the company.