"Our aim is to replace vinyl with this latex film," said Hexis communications director Martin Kugler. "It meets all three requirements of cost, conformability and durability. All three are needed. We know if a substrate is great, and green, but even 10% more expensive people will stay with vinyl."

The latex – a polymer in a water base –is free of all the materials that are known to have sustainability issues including PVC, solvents and heavy metals. It can be printed with all types of solvent inks, bio inks and HP’s Latex ink. Durability is claimed to be five years with HP Latex ink.

"HXL-300 is the first in a series of products," claimed Kugler. "We believe that it will replace vinyl entirely over time, but that will take a while – maybe five years."