Greenprint Guide to Printing and the Environment

Printing Industry Myths

​

The printing industry suffers from a rather negative image, with many believing it to be a dirty, heavy industry which is responsible for pollution and, indirectly, for damaging the environment through the use of paper which leads to deforestation and results in litter and landfill.  There are certainly still many printing companies who have not yet addressed the need to change, but all of the printers which Greenprint work with are working hard to minimise their impact on the environment.  Here are a few examples of how this is being achieved: 

​

• The majority of Greenprint's print suppliers are certified to ISO14001 or EMAS.  These externally-audited international standards verify that they are actively working to reduce their environmental impact year-on-year.  Those suppliers which are not yet registered to ISO14001 or EMAS have undergone rigorous checks to ensure that they are environmentally responsible and have adopted a continuous improvement approach to reduce their environmental impact

​

• Greenprint Consultancy Limited have been registered to ISO14001 since December 2007 and have implemented many environmental improvements in the way we run our business​

​

• All of our litho suppliers use computer to plate (CTP) technology, replacing film processors and eliminating the use of plastic film and hydrocarbon solvents in the platemaking process​

​

​

• Many of our printers are now moving onto the next generation of processorless plates which require no chemicals to generate the plate, which is automatically exposed when introduced to the fount solution on the press

​​

• Modern presses are up to 60% more energy-efficient than older presses, reducing carbon emissions and we work primarily with printers who have invested heavily in the latest technology

​​

• Waste paper sheets are re-used for press start-up and are then collected for recycling.  Almost no paper waste from print production ends up in landfill

​​

• Heavy metals have been eliminated in ink manufacture, reducing the environmental impact.  In addition, many of our sheetfed litho printers now use vegetable-based inks, eliminating the use of solvents