You may have heard the rumors around the water cooler, maybe even seen an article about it, and wondered … Could it be true?  Is it hype, or is it real?  Well folks it is real … the printing industry has an antimicrobial overlay coating that offers surface protection against a variety of bacteria, S. aureus, and e-coli.  The EPA regulates antimicrobial products and has not tested it against Covid 19 yet so that claim has not been made, but imagine the possibilities of a coating that can suppress or destroy the growth of harmful microorganisms. 

                Antimicrobial coating has been utilized in Europe for a while now due to the extensive research companies have been doing, and the lighter regulations imposed there.  The US is working on catching up.  Although US is later to the starting gate, the heightened interest in the US is driving up demand for uses on multi touch items such as Restaurant Menus, Magazines, Packaging, Printing on School Supplies…the list is vast.

                The antimicrobial coating mixes with the coating that you would normally have on your products.  It doesn’t change the look, feel, or application of your product so there is no notable difference to your laminate finish like gloss or matte.  What you do get an over-laminate that protects against harmful microbes for 15+ years on most products. 

                The average cost of the antimicrobial products is an average of 10x more, but it is still being utilized in abundance in Europe due to the health promoting aspect of the coating.  In today’s health conscious world is it any surprise? 

                We at Paragon Visual hope you have found this helpful.  Thank you for your time and interest!