Green Horizons
There was once a time being ‘green’ stood out; when a nod towards reducing your carbon-footprint was all it took to be hailed as an environmentally-friendly alternative. Those days have passed. Environmental legislation now ensures that all businesses meet certain regulatory standards, reducing the impact that a sustainability policy can have on a brand.
This does not mean, however, that businesses should dismiss sustainability as an out of date marketing tool. In fact, from a purely commercial perspective, it has never been so important to prove your environmental credentials.
Consumer awareness
Greenhouse graphics have converted their waste disposal costs into profits, proving being green can pay.
Darren Hall is the director of environmental charity and momentum group the Green Capital Partnership. He specialises in advising companies on simple changes they can make to reduce their carbon footprint, and well understands the value of sustainable business. He explains how it is still vitally important for companies to engage with these issues, for economic as well environmental reasons: “Consumers are beginning to demand a certain level of commitment from businesses when it comes to the environment. They are much more clued-up on what they can expect in terms of sustainability.
“The ‘green’ market is becoming mainstream, and if you are not keeping up with your competitors by implementing sustainable best practices, you’re in danger of being pushed out of it.”
Consumers are beginning to demand commitment to the environment”
For wholesale and business-to-business suppliers this advice is particularly relevant. As a result of government legislation, large corporations are now required to meet certain criteria, designed to reduce the country’s carbon emissions. By offering yourself as an environmentally responsible supplier, you can help them fulfil these obligations, whilst providing the product they require. They can kill two birds with one stone and, more importantly, for one price. It is therefore crucial that you, as opposed to your competitors, provide them with this valuable package.
Low-impact printing
So, with the need to improve your environmental credentials an ever-pressing reality, companies are looking for practices that will not squeeze those all-important profit margins. Indeed, Darren’s warning rings true for businesses across all sectors, and the wide-format print industry is no exception. Becoming ‘green’, however, does not have to be costly. In fact, many businesses have found that a waste-reducing, energy-saving sustainability policy reduces monthly costs and improves profits. Ian Crossley is managing director of award winning graphic communications company, Greenhouse Graphics. The company has become widely recognised as a leading centre for sustainable printing, as Crossley explains: “We are a values driven company and improving our sustainability record has always been a high priority. We have developed our own environmentally- friendly printing programme, ‘Eco Print System’, and aim wherever possible to exceed the expectations of environmental legislation.”
We have converted waste costs into waste income”
He continues: “The biggest sustainability issue for the wide-format and commercial print industry is energy, and should be the number one consideration. We always understood the common sense behind reducing energy usage, and through this we have converted waste costs into waste income.”
Sustainable substrates
The Dufaylite Ultra Board is made of one hundred percent recycled materials, while its honeycomb structure makes it extremely lightweight.
Greenhouse Graphics has managed to preserve its environmental ethos whilst maintaining a commercially successful business. Ian Crossley illustrates, however, how wide-format printing poses additional sustainability challenges: “We are currently not as efficient as we would like to be when it comes to our wide-format waste. There are inevitably a lot of cut-offs, often from materials that cannot be recycled and which unfortunately end up in landfills.”
Indeed, this is one area where traditional printing has the environmental edge over wide-format. Paper is widely recycled, whilst the great variety of substrates used for signs make waste management more challenging. Of course Greenhouse Graphics offer a range of eco-friendly substrates, but these are often dismissed as a more expensive option. South Gloucestershire hairdresser, Claire Pennington, is planning on updating her shop front sign.
“To be honest, I probably wouldn’t consider an environmentally-friendly alternative,” explains Claire, adding: “When it comes to the business, I am always trying to keep costs down, and would just assume something like that to be quite dear.”
In some ways Claire is correct; mass produced materials such as PVC do tend to retail at a lower price. However, this trend is beginning to change. The main reason PVC is cheap is because it is produced on a large scale. Companies such as Dufaylite now mass-produce their sustainable products, which keeps the costs down and often allows them to sell at a lower price than PVC.
Sustainable products are now being mass-produced, keeping costs down”
Yet cost consideration should not start and finish at the retail price. The Dufaylite Ultra Board is made of one hundred percent recycled materials and is in turn fully recyclable. It is constructed using Dufaylite’s established honeycomb structure, making it ultra lightweight. In fact, 10mm Dufaylite is almost seven times lighter than rigid PVC, offering a significant reduction on your transport costs. As well as this, as an additional incentive to buy green, it is possible for users to be paid for recycling this waste. The boards are available with a variety of different features, with options suitable for both dry and water based adhesives. In actual fact, the Dufaylite Ultra Board is just one of the many environmentally-friendly substrates on the market, which are becoming cheaper and more functional by the minute.
Hi-Tech solutions
There is no doubt that sustainability policies and environmentally-friendly materials are great news for the planet. Yet in an industry so reliant on mechanical processes, this positive ideology has to be reflected in greener technology.
The main consideration for wide-format printing companies has been whether to opt for solvent or latex printers. There is a lack of consensus as to which offers the most green service; each has a different set of environmental pros and cons. Solvent printers traditionally have low energy consumption, but the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) they emit are harmful pollutants. On the other hand, the ink used for latex printers is water-based and environmentally-friendly; the high temperatures needed for curing this ink, however, offsets its environmental advantage.
The Mimaki JV400LX not only uses recyclable latex ink, it contains built in drying fans that speed up the curing process, therefore reducing energy consumption
In the past, this dilemma has forced companies to choose one side or the other, depending on which issue they believe has the most environmental impact. However, new technology is emerging into the market that could solve this conundrum and provide the best of both worlds.
Hybrid Services are the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Mimaki Engineering; a key printer, cutter and hardware manufacturer.
They have introduced an innovative new range of wide-format latex printers that combat the devices’ traditional high energy consumption. The Mimaki JV400LX Series has a variety of eco-friendly features, including white latex ink, low curing temperatures and zero waste piezo print heads. Duncan Jefferies, the marketing manager for Hybrid Services, explains how it works: “Latex printers use water-based ink which, despite its eco-friendly composition, traditionally needs a high curing temperature, requiring a large amount of energy to be used. The JV400 contains built in drying fans that speed up the curing process, allowing the heaters to run at a lower temperature. Energy usage is therefore reduced, which is great for the environment as well as your monthly bills.”
The low curing temperatures open up new business opportunities”
He continues: “The ink costs are very similar to our JV33 eco-solvent range. Additionally, the low curing temperatures open up new opportunities, as it allows businesses to print on a wider range of substrates.”
The JV400’s environmental credentials impressed the European Digital Press Association, winning it the Best Environmental Printing Solution at the 2012 EDP awards. As Duncan Jefferies points out, the numbers stack up too, making it an excellent investment for sustainable business.
Jefferies is eager to assure that solvent printers have not been alienated from Hybrid Services environmental efforts.
He adds: “We run the ‘Let’s Do More’ recycling programme, which allows our customers to bring us their empty solvent ink cartridges. We then recycle them into building materials, and even offer our customers a rebate for their efforts. For every 45 cartridges they bring us, we give them one back for free. To the best of my knowledge we are the only wide-format printer supplier to offer a recycling rebate.”
The Future’s Green
Duncan Jefferies, marketing manager of Hybrid Services, believes environmental technology can open up new opportunities for companies.
It is easy to be pessimistic when it comes to the future of our planet. With recent dramatic examples of climate change, along with Attenborough’s images of polar bears in distress, it can seem like we are fighting a losing battle.
Yet change is not brought about, by everybody gazing solemnly at the global picture. It happens by individual people, companies and industries focussing on what they can do to improve their own impact on the world. Businesses need to make a profit; that is a fact that will not change. Yet with emerging technology that is not only environmentally-friendly but makes economic sense, the wide-format print industry is on the right track. Of course there will be new issues that arise and there is always more to be done. Nevertheless, I think it is fair to say that there is a green light on the horizon.
