Sunday 14 February 2016

How To Achieve Digital Printing That Is Eco Friendly

By Angela Thomas


There is pressure from numerous quarters for business to use solutions friendlier to the environment. As a result, the printing industry is among those which are experiencing a major shift in the manner in which operations are conducted. There has been an increase in the use of raw materials and methods which fit into this new way of thinking. If you are a player in the industry, there are a number of things you can do to implement digital printing that is eco friendly.

One of the major changes being implemented is replacing the mineral based inks with those which are vegetable oil based. The mineral based inks emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs react with nitrogen oxide found in the environment to produce ozone gas. This type of ozone is different from the protective ozone as it is formed much lower in the atmosphere. It attracts materials such as dust particles forming smog.

Recycled paper is a product which is increasingly being accepted as an alternative to fiber paper by many printing plants as well as customers. One of the benefits of using recycled paper is the fact that it requires less water to process compared to virgin paper. It also has less effluent. More importantly, however, recycled paper reduces the rate of deforestation and helps conserve the environment. New methods which do not use chlorine for bleaching now exist.

There are a number of other raw materials which can be recycled or reused. One of the inputs which may be recycled easily is water. In a firm which is operating efficiently, up to 65% of water can be recycled. This is likely to translate into huge savings as relate to operational costs. Other materials can also be recycled to various extents. Such may include, waste paper, ink and aluminum plates.

Energy conservation should be a priority. Efforts should be made to cut down on the use of fossil fuels as much as possible and use renewable sources of energy instead. If you are to buy new equipment, ensure it is more efficient with faster running speed which ensures there is more output per kilowatt of electricity used. Regular servicing ensures that your printers remain efficient and use less energy, ink and water.

The amount of paper used for proofs should be reduced as much as possible or eliminated from the process entirely. The use of emails is one of the ways through which this can be made possible easily. Not only does this practice reduce paper requirements within a firm but also helps customers to keep track of their work as it goes through the various stage of printing.

Changes are also being adopted in fabric printing. The pretreatment process involves the use of compounds which contain urea. When the urea is broken down during the steaming process, carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) is produced. Newer alternatives which involve the use of a special foam instead of the urea compounds have been developed.

There is no doubt that the possibilities in environmental conservation are limitless. It is true that some changes are a bit expensive to implement but the returns are tremendous both to individual businesses and the environment. There should be increased usage of modern technology which helps to increase efficiency and reduce wastage.




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