An environmentally focused and cost effective solution for advertising: the Self-Printing Advertisement Board with Reusable Ink

Advertising is something impossible to avoid. Outdoor advertising is one way of approaching the public, and it has two main categories: the 'classic' paper and glue based, and the 'modern' based on digital technology. Both have pros and cons, but the same problem appears on both sides: they need a lot of resources to operate (paper, glue, electricity, etc.). With the combination of existing and new technologies, SPABRINK was developed to bridge the gap between static and dynamic advertising…

The Need

The global advertising industry is a highly competitive business environment. In order to remain in the game, the need is recognised to develop a product that could help to meet these challenges.

SPABRINK is not intended to increase the number of outdoor advertisements, but to be a new state of the art eco-friendly alternative to existing advertising panels. Paper billboards used currently have a serious impact on the environment, namely the use of non-recyclable paper, as well as the use of toxic polluting inks and glues. As for emerging technologies, digital advertising has negative effects due to the excessive energy consumption required for displaying the ad, not just for changing them.

A consortium of European SMEs and RTD performers under the 7th Framework Programme implemented the SPABRINK project. The aim of the project was to develop a novel advertising tool using the innovative combination of existing and new technologies. This new tool will fill in the gap between static and dynamic advertising since the technology will allow onsite printing of adverts controlled remotely. Furthermore, the printed image can be wiped off and the ink can be reused after separation. The end result will be a new advertising tool that can be controlled remotely to display different images periodically without creating waste and will only use energy during image change. This means that the device could also be operated in an off-grid mode with the use of batteries and eventually powered with solar energy.
 
Advantages:
• Environmental friendly, low ecological footprint, no waste produced;
• Effective outplacement;
• Enables flexible campaign duration;
• Real time control and monitoring capability over the display of the media surface;
• Allows to continuously monitoring the outplacement of the advertisement.

Results:
• A market survey and literature research has been performed with an overview of the market trend;
• An in-depth literature and patent search has been performed about the two technologies to be combined;
• Based on the gathered information, on the initial concept and on the experiences of project partners the system’s technical specification has been outlined;
• Novel ink deposition and adhesion technology was developed and validated;
• Prototype has been built and the testing is in progress.

The two-year initiative started in September 2013 and has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 605299. The final project meeting took place between 15 and 16 July, 2015. The meeting’s results determined, that the SPABRINK project is a very successfully implemented and carried out project. The project ends on 31 August 2015.

For more technical information please visit www.spabrink.eu or contact the coordinator of the project through [e-mail].

For commercial purposes you can contact with the Exploitation Manager of SPABRINK through [e-mail].

Schlüsselbegriffe

• Advertising; billboards; reusable ink;

Länder

Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, United Kingdom