Greener Printing
I discussed sustainable paper options in a previous post, but paper is only half of the printing equation. When looking for greener printing options, you also have to consider ink. And that is where things often get a bit messy. Traditional printing inks are petroleum-based and contain volitile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to air pollution and health problems.
Because petroleum-based inks are usually found in home inkjet printers, the first step in greening our printing is to just do less of it. But, for graphic designers like myself, printing is a fact of life and a major part of business. Thankfully, the printing industry is developing many greener options for the ecology-minded designer.
Most people have heard of soy ink, which is ink that uses a soy oil base instead of a petroleum one. Soy takes very little water or energy to grow and since soy ink has very low levels of VOCs, it is far less polluting than traditional petroleum-based ink. Development of soy ink began in the late 1970s by the Newspaper Association of America, who sought a different way to make ink because of rising oil prices. Today, soy ink is used in many offset printing presses and newspapers. Paper printed with soy ink is easier to recycle because it comes off of the paper more easily, and the ink colors are brighter as well. Unfortunately, soy ink cannot be used in small personal printers, which is one of its major drawbacks.
It is especially important to consider sustainable printing options for a large print run, and since designers are in a position to choose paper and printing options for their clients, every effort should be made to find an eco-friendly printing solution. Many commercial printers use soy ink, and some go even further, such as Ecoprint, a printing company that prints with vegetable oil and metal-free inks on recycled paper. Ecoprint was the first carbon-neutral U.S. printing company and is truly a leader in the printing industry. They offset all of their carbon emissions and are 100% wind powered, setting an example I hope the rest of the printing industry soon follows.
Other developments in green printing include waterless printing - an offset printing process that eliminates the water or dampening system used in conventional printing. As a result, not only is water conserved, but there are many environmental benefits to this process. According to the Waterless Printing Association:
Many printers have been drawn to waterless printing because it eliminates dampening-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the printing process. Some VOCs have been linked to the deterioration of the earth's protective ozone layer and, consequently, to global warming. Now, with the release of water-washable inks, the waterless pressroom can be virtually VOC-free.
This revolutionary ink technology, eliminates the need for solvent-based press and blanket wash solutions, which typically account for a large portion of a printer's VOC output…. The environmental benefits of water-washable inks are far reaching. In some cases the elimination of pressroom VOCs may even result in expansion opportunities that were previously limited due to emission restrictions.
I recently discovered a company called ZINK that offers zero-ink printing. At first that almost sounds like an oxymoron, but it's true! ZINK uses special composite paper with dye crystals embedded in it, and a special printer that uses heat to activate the crystals for a long-lasting and durable printed image. This printing process is simple and involves less waste because there is no ink involved. The paper is also non-toxic and recyclable, making it a unique option for green printing.
There are many commercial printing options available, and now I am anxiously awaiting a more sustainable solution for at-home inkjet printing. Until then, we can only avoid printing as much as necessary and hope that the paperless office soon becomes a reality.
Links: EPA Evaluation of Soy Inks, Ecoprint, ZINK, Sustainable Paper Options
Tags: Conservation, Design, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Green Tech, ink, printing, resource conservation, soy ink, waterless printing
- Uncategorized
March 27th, 2007 at 3:23 am
For large format digital printing (AKA inkjet) UV curable inks are also VOC free.
Yes, UV curable inks on recycled or recyclable substrates are impossible to find in this country — but there is one company doing it, finally. Light-Works, Inc, in Burlington, Vermont. It’s a brand new service, and as far as I know, it’s the first trade show or POP / display advertising option for the environmentally conscience.
May 10th, 2007 at 4:08 am
Hi,Iam looking for alternative materials for my inkjet printers.I have a business which we do large format printing. The problem Iam having is finding recycled or bio. products such as—papers, vinyl,inks,and mounting boards.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
We are purchasing a Presstek refurbished QMDI and
would like information on vegetable/soy based
waterless inks that work well with Presstek Pearl
Dry plate system. Any help?
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I am an office manager looking for a local green printer for business cards. Our offices are on 5th near Arizona.
August 18th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Hi everybody,
It is my pleasure to introduce you to Green Printer, a new Lower Mainland eco-friendly printer. I am writing to ask if you would be interested in reviewing our products and services for your readership. Green Printer is excited to offer the latest in sustainable printing practices, assisting companies and organizations all over North America reach their sustainability goals.
One of our biggest goals is to educate consumers about the paper and printing industry. Many people have no idea how harmful the industry is to the environment. Did you know that the pulp and paper industry is the third largest industrial polluter of air, water and land in both Canada and the United States?
Each month, a medium-sized print shop uses about 20 tons of paper, which produces about 554 kilograms of waterborne waste, 680,741 litres of wastewater (enough to fill about one-and-a-half 25 metre swimming pools), 9,025 kilograms of solid waste, 17,770 kilograms of greenhouse gases, and 299,880 BTUs of energy. When you choose green printing methods you can also eliminate a lot of waste in the printing process, from the choice of non-toxic inks and energy efficient processes to dry offset printing (for no chemical waste).
At Green Printer, we realized that we could have a huge impact just by switching to all treeless and recycled content papers. When customers order from us our online Green Printer Calculator shows them the number of trees they have saved, the amount of greenhouse gases and wastewater that has been prevented, as well as the amount of energy conserved. Our goal is to save between 750,000 and 1 million trees over the next ten years!
In addition to offering the latest in green printing technologies, we offer our customers high quality, affordable printing – so they don’t have to compromise to go green. I invite you to visit our website, http://www.greenprinter.ca, to find out more about our company. I am confident your readers would interested in finding out more about the printing industry and our eco-friendly services. Please contact me anytime if you would like more information.
Sincerely,
Alen Rokolj
Vice President
October 1st, 2007 at 12:11 am
I’ve used Light-Works and the print quality was extraordinary, price was competitive, and the service was educational and trustworthy - the environmental process was a bonus! Nice to see they’re being noticed out here in cyberspace … I picked them because Ben and Jerry’s uses them (I manage a B&J shop in Canada.) Light-Works offers environmental, large format, digital green printing using the Durst Rho printer from Italy (I think) and it prints on just about any substrate you can imagine. Very cool stuff.
November 1st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I actually printed with those guys, they are very nice. I love this “eco-calculator” of theirs, which keeps track of how many trees/water etc you save, while you changing different options in your order, in realtime.
So you can see exact impact by switch, fo example, from paper A to paper B. Nice.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Thanks for this info. I’ve found it extremely useful and empowering. I am a graphic designer currently searching the world over (hopefully North America) for options in substitution of clear plastic vinyl, in the form of stickers. Since stickers are largely marketed to children, there ought to be some other kind of environmentally and health conscious alternatives to the printing of plastic sticker type products. Has anyone heard of anything better and safer for this type of medium, other than the current standard poly vinyl?
February 29th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
[...] Greener Printing and Greener Paper options have been covered previously on Green Options. Printing and paper are two areas that designers can make a big impact if they shop sustainably. [...]
March 26th, 2008 at 2:13 am
[...] soy or vegetable ink for your printing needs. Soy ink has low VOC (volatile organic compound) levels, [...]