This month, I would like to discuss Greenwashing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwash ) and how it relates to our industry in terms of the environment and whether or not newer technologies are a real improvement on existing technologies and perhaps whether there is more we can do as business owners to help this along without being spoon fed our half-hearted environmental efforts by equipment and media manufacturers.

Greenwashing

“Greenwashing is the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly”

Our industry certainly is a wasteful one, it uses a huge amount of energy, raw materials and harmful chemicals to produce our final products.

Paul has worked in the signage and wide format print industry for the last 10 or so years and has had a focus on digital print for the bulk of that time. With a background in design and production for the signage industry he has tackled a number of challenges from all angles. He has worked in design, production and supply, and also spent some time working for a large equipment and consumables supplier, where he learnt how things worked from "the other side of the fence".

Extremely lean estimates would say that less than half of these materials will ever make it to the final product. So as far as I am concerned it may never be acceptable to use terms like “eco”, “green” or “eco-friendly” to describe the majority of the currently available materials and equipment to describe the produce of the wide format printing industry.

The ten signs of greenwashing (http://www.reliabledesigns.com.au/futerra-greenwashing2.jpg ) can be as funny as they are scary when being read alongside the marketing material for many of these “environmentally friendlier” products and I believe we all have to take an objective view on any new materials and technology before jumping on board simply because we are told to by the marketing machine.

Whether you believe this is happening in our industry or not, it is an interesting topic and if you take the time to read some of the literature about Greenwashing, it seems to be very relevant to a huge amount of advertising and product packaging once your looking for it.

Latex inks

Latex technology is viewed as a positive thing by some people, and the devil in disguise by others. Funnily enough, it is generally the opposing equipment sales representatives making these remarks.

Without a doubt, latex inks are one of a few developments that is shaking up this industry from the inside out, the promise of an environmentally friendlier ink with lower odors and VOC's is what this industry has been waiting for….. right???

Lower VOC’s and odors are a good thing, no one will deny that, but regardless, the inks are not completely VOC free and a colleague once told me “Just because you cannot smell the fumes you are inhaling, does not mean that they are not doing you great harm” And although it may not apply to all inks, the low odor term is being used a lot these days and it might pay to look into it further if it is your health you are concerned about, not the odor.

Another thing is the high energy curing that is required for latex inks, you are required to run a second 15amp circuit for the heater (which is another thing that media supplier’s and even Latex equipment suppliers themselves seem to disagree on in terms of actual power consumption).

 We have heard from the latex sales side that “It only uses the second circuit to heat up initially” and “The second circuit is very rarely used”. Either way, it seems that no one has yet been able to give an answer that I can trust other than an electrician I spoke to who said – “You don’t go to the trouble and expense of installing a second 15amp circuit unless it is needed, and you don’t need a second 15amp circuit unless you intend on drawing a lot of power at the same time.” That said, the latex sales side seems to all agree that it will actually use LESS power than a solvent machine due to low power sleep modes and the ability to be turned off when not in use.

Along with these things, the biggest and most important thing we need to keep in mind is that most media currently available is FAR from green. If we are going to print onto these medias and then laminate them with a similar film, then surely, although the ink alone is possibly better for the environment when compared against solvent, is it right to use it as a main selling point when the bulk of currently available media is going to break down many, many years after the ink is gone?

 Regardless, the amount of ink usage compared to media usage on all jobs is extremely small and we need to keep this in mind before selling these products as “green”, especially if you are still using materials made from raw materials and PVC’s.

All that said, Latex inks do seem to be a very good step in the right direction, and when combined with the proprietary technologies HP uses, it produces an excellent result that some believe is the solvent killer of the future. Only time will tell.

What can you do as a sign shop manager / owner?

It is likely that we could all make some wiser decisions in terms of the environment and wastage when running a print shop, but what really upsets me is sales opportunities packaged up as greener options for the clients. It’s happening everyday in a range of different industries and I think it’s about time we had some real initiative. Let us not wait for the manufacturers to hand feed you your next environmental marketing plan of attack, even on a small scale we can make small differences by simply cutting down on our consumption levels.

The following are just a few practical ways you may be able to help the environment without blowing your budget on new equipment or bringing in an energy/environmental consultant. They may not be the best angles for marketing, but if you really are concerned about your impact on the environment, these may help you reduce your footprint.

- Contact local recycling plants and or community groups to offer clients a recycling program. My business has an agreement with a local recycling station, which has contact with the community and passes our clients’ banners onto schools and other groups who use the banners to re-use for a range of signage and artistic purposes at minimal cost.

- Recycle wax paper for wrapping. As a trade supplier of wide format digital printing, our business has a huge amount of backing paper left over at the end of the day. It is in our environmental policy to re-use this paper for wrapping and packaging of our goods for transport and delivery, it may not be as pretty, but it certainly is as effective as using raw packing materials.

- Ink carts can be recycled through Planet Ark, and despite what I have been told personally by a latex equipment salesman, solvent cartridges can be recycled through this program at a range of different drop off points.

- Purchase equipment that can help reduce waste. Look into monitors, computers, heaters and other equipment that incorporate power saving modes and have a better energy rating.

- Purchase a laminator without the need for a backing sheet on lamination. The Ezy-Taper is a great option for this sort of thing and has the added bonus of not having any power or heat requirements.

- RIP stations, laminators, routers, air cleaners, computer monitors are just a handful of the many items that are often left on at night or when not in use. Turning these things off at the wall can make a huge difference to your power consumption. Your average printer can have 3 or more heaters and settings on them can often have them kept on long after prints have finished. Check with your technician to have these default times cut back so your heaters are not running longer than they need to be.

- Ensure all waste ink is disposed of safely through a drop off point for harmful chemicals to ensure they do not end up in our waterway. Don’t laugh, I have seen someone tip a 10 litre drum of waste solvent ink straight down the sink with no concern about the implications, other than the fact that they would not have to pay to dispose of it properly. I’m sure we all have similar stories.

The beauty of most of these solutions is that they will not only cost nothing, but they will actually save you money. Give them a try and contact me directly with any other solutions your business uses and I will publish them in a future article (giving full credit to the author and business)

It is important that we try to understand the implications of our purchasing decisions and our operating procedures in terms of the environment, which can be hard for layman like us, but I do think it’s about time we took the environment seriously for the environments sake, not just for the sake of a great marketing angle to win our next big government tender.

To finish I would like to pull a quote from a heated discussion about “green” digital printing on a web forum I frequent, it pretty much sums up how I feel about the progression of technology and the lifelines it may bring to our industry where the environment is concerned:

“You can always find fault with every process and opinion, what is important is that there is a great awareness in the industry on how are products and bi-products adversely affect the environment. With any movement there are always growing pains, successes and failures. But when trade organizations, manufactures, and end users pull their collective knowledge together, viable solutions can almost always be reached.
After more than a century of heavy industrial abuse in this world it is due time that we all work together and put actions into motion to begin to reduce our industrial impact. Sometimes the solutions are not the best we hoped for but may be the best technology has to offer today. And those who are working to solve the shortfalls in technology will survive; those who do not will either embrace the change it brings or parish.”

I welcome any emails or feedback on this article, and I am happy to be proven wrong on anything I have written here and I will publish any corrections in the next article. (And just quietly, yes, I do believe Latex inks will progress and evolve to become the standard in the coming years).

Until next time.

Paul Vidler
Reliable Designs and Print
www.reliabledesigns.com.au