The German company, which celebrates 300 years in business this year, has used the new material to give its booth (7-Q60) a ‘surfer shack’ make-over to highlight the range of applications of the board, including its bendable properties when scored with a laser cutter. 

European product development manager Scott Treick said that the company was increasingly being approached by interior decorators. “The boards have great acoustic and thermal properties. You can glue them to a honeycombed backing to absorb sound, which is great in offices,” he said.

The new Canvas board comes in 1.6mm (910gsm), 2mm (1,125gsm), 3mm (1,495gsm) and 5mm (2,320gsm) thicknesses from distributors across Europe for use on flatbed printers using UV inks.

The launch follows the launch of the Neon, self-adhesive Fix and Black materials at Fespa Digital last year. 

Treick said: “Real canvas is expensive and you have to coat it with a special coating. This needs no preparation and no backing when framed.”

Managing director of Katz UK and Ireland Garry Hobson said: “We started with a display board and we opened up a range of products. 

“It’s all about selling capacity. There’s a lot of innovation at Fespa on machinery, they are getting faster and getting hungry. We’re providing the products.”

Hobson said Katz is the largest producer of beer mats in the world with 75% of the market and has just invested €1.5m in a heat recovery system.