Printers Experience with Benign PSA, 2000 Recycling Symposium Proceedings

Robert A Lane--The subject matter associated with the TAPPI 2000 Recycling Symposium will focus on what the processes are that are used to remove foreign material such as ink, adhesive and release coatings from label stock, and more specifically, self adhesive postage stamps. Sennett has been associated with stamp production since 1978 and Sennett Security Products has been direct supplier of US Postage Stamps since 1990. During this period, billions of stamps have been produced and many new innovations have been created. The major change in the stamp formats has been the conversion from wettable gum stamps to the self-adhesive stamps, which currently dominate the USPS market. This has resulted in major changes to the raw materials, printing and finishing of US postage stamps. These new raw materials have brought convenience to the USPS customers and new challenges associated with recycling these products. The paper will provide a summary of the different processes associated with stamp production, compare stamp products to other label type products, and describe the process of spoilage disposal. The spoilage disposal discussion will highlight the need for recyclable raw materials for stamp and label stock.