The Planet Friendly Group

Add a Comment

Comment by P Jacques de Sousa on December 1, 2009 at 9:39pm

Hi Handy,

Thanks for the post.
We should use paper on city lights (JCD). So digital maybe difficult with this solution we're looking for, but maybe Screen?
The campaign will be only for one week, and as street furniture, the paper will be protected by the glass.

Comment by Tony Moscrop on December 1, 2009 at 4:55pm

Hi All

I agree that Green is starting and being driven by main Brands and Retailers, certainly in the UK.

Green Graphics Ltd (www.greengraphics.co.uk) is a company I started two years ago with the objective of providing 'green' display solutions. The company model is simple, using young, creative people who take environmentally friendly substrates and Inks and using digital printing and cutting processes produce some innovative, cost effective displays, proving that 'green' does not have to cost more.e
We use Dufaylite Ultra Board (www.ultraboard.co.uk) as our main rigid substrate which is a paper based board and UV curing inks.

I am also interested in the next generation of inks that will be usable on our flatbed digital printer as I am keen to attain a high level 'green' certificate whenever one can be shaped.

Apologies for not having an answer and only adding to the list, but I am prepared to have any input to try and get a measurable level of 'GREEN'

Tony

Comment by Andy Hancock on December 1, 2009 at 1:57pm

Hi Jacques,

For this particular ink product, what specifications would you need? i.e. does it need to have lightfastness? What substrates will it be used on? What sort of shelf life would you require from the digital ink?

Theoretically it would be possible, however, there are a few factors that would need to be looked at. The main vehicle of the ink could be made from water and plant sources, the colorant would be difficult - this is speaking from an inkjet point of view.

Comment by P Jacques de Sousa on November 25, 2009 at 4:35pm

Hi all,

It looks that finally the GREEN is going to start working as we're receiving some demands from a few clients.
An important client in the market will change all his image to GREEN on 2010, and wants to make an advertising campaign, the most green possible.
We have green paper, as well as green inks like water based and latex, but this client wants to have a special creativity, using other product than ink, but with witch we can print in paper. The idea for this special campaign, is to let the consumer see immediately that it has been printed in something else different - like ink made from grass... some natural plant...
Does any one knows about any kind of material we can use to print in screen or other suggestion for digital?
Thanks!

Comment by Stephen Goddard on November 23, 2009 at 5:42pm

For many major corporations 'green' increasingly is not a 'marketing word'.

Ikea is absolutely serious about ensuring that the papers on which its catalogues are printed come from a sustainable source, and that the companies that print them around the world comply with its IWAY code of conduct. Indeed, it works to ensure this with a program of questionnaires, on-site audits and corrective action plans.

Sony only procures prints from PSPs, and from printing equipment, approved under its Green Partner Environmental Quality Approval Program.

Newsweek recently ranked HP as the greenest company in America partly because it implements a rigorous 'Design for Environment' program that ensures that its products are designed to environmental standards that often far exceed legal minimums.

The problem is that in the printing industry in general, and the sign & graphics printing industry in particular, there are few widely agreed definitions of 'green', or indeed standards or certifcations that help the market understand what can be considered 'green'. Regretably this creates an environment in which uncertainty, misinformation and even greenwashing thrive.

In some parts of the world there are now some attempts to address this problem. In North America most of the major printing industry associations have backed the formation of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP Partnership), which provides a certication program for Print Service providers (PSPs) trying to take a more sustainable approach to printing (www.sgppartnership.org). The program is applicable to sign & display printers, amongst others, and is fiercely printing technology and vendor neutral.

HP is a leading sponsor of the SGP Partnership, since we are always looking to help support the development of reputable, independent environmental certification bodies relevant to our markets.

Earlier this year Nike became the first company to state publicly that it would only work with PSPs in North America certified by the SGP Partnership.

Ultimately our belief is that it is better for the printing industry itself to define the standard of what is 'green' rather than have customers, vendors and regulators impose multiple (and possibly conflicting) definitions of green upon the industry.

We in HP would be only too willing to help support any such initiatives in the European printing industry.

Comment by Mike Horsten on November 23, 2009 at 9:47am

Green today Thomas is sadly enough a Marketing word. the real Green comes out of the heart of the company and its people. being Green today is not bound to any rules or regulations. As there are many sides of the Green as there are shades of Green.
100% green is impossible, 50% is more than most green companies can say.
So the definition of green. "To Make the right Choices"

Comment by Thomas Poetz on November 20, 2009 at 3:41pm

Stephen,
but dont you think we need some clear guidelines what is what?

Comment by Stephen Goddard on November 20, 2009 at 2:43pm

For me the definition of 'green'...or at least 'greener'... is having a lower environmental impact versus what you were doing in the past...and/or what would otherwise be done.

I believe that you can describe this either in 'technical' or 'practical' terms. The best 'technical' way of looking at it that I know is the well-established Life Cycle Assessment Methodology. It considers the total impact of a printing system across its manufacture, use and disposal phases, and of course includes the impacts of things like the substrates, consumables and energy used during printing.

This methodology tries to group the total environmental impacts into four categories relating respectively to Human Health, Ecosystem Quality, Climate Change and Resources. An independent consultancy recently conducted a study using this methodology on HP's behalf to compare the impacts of printing point-of-sale signage with the HP Scitex FB7500 Printer versus printing the same signage on an equivalent screen printer. The study demonstrated that the impacts across the board of using the FB7500 were significantly lower of than those of using the screen printer - regardless of the quantity of signage printed. These results were independently reviewed by a panel of experts after the study was completed.

The more practical definition is what matters to the print-buying customer. From what I have seen their top concern relates to how they will dispose of the signage at the end of its life - and particuarly whether it can be kept out of landfill. Their second area of focus tends to be where the media has come from - particularly whether it is derived from a sustainable source and whether undue levels of chemicals, water or energy have been used in its manufacture. Their third key concern relates to the printed sign itself - particularly whether there are unpleasant odors emanating from the media or inks used. Fourthly they want to know how the sign was printed, in terms whether operator health was protected, whether there were high levels of air emissions associated with the printing and the level of waste connected with the printing process.

More sophistciated print buyers increasingly wish to know whether the PSPs with which they work have an environmental certication - perhaps the Nordic Ecolabel or Imprim'Vert (in France) or ISO14001, which provide reassurance that the PSP in question has processes in place to continually improve their environmnental performance.

I'd be interested to hear some more thoughts on this.

Comment by Thomas Poetz on November 20, 2009 at 1:51pm

Hello to the "green" community - what kind of experience do you have in using the word green in our industry?
Can you confirm that we need asap a def. of green?
looking forward to your comments ...
thomas

Comment by Robert Grafton on August 8, 2009 at 9:40am

I am great believer that things should be reused when and where ever possible.
That is why I remanufacture wide format cartridges.
This reduces Plastic and electronic waste.
But to many have been brain washed in to think that OEM is the best??? But is it
The after market is far more flexible to new ideas

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last