Our sustainability initiatives cover a range of production industries
Publishing
In the publishing sector, sustainability is increasingly a priority, and we are committed to driving sustainable change throughout the industry.
Our ColorStream 8000 and ProStream 2000 offer outstanding productivity, but also boasts a range of features to target waste, including a waste-free print pause to avoid paper waste during production breaks, start-up speed ramping to further reduce paper waste, and an integrated web cleaner that lets you use recycled paper.
The varioPRINT 6000 TITAN is designed to push limits with the environment in mind. With virtually no ozone emissions, no waste toner, and a lower energy consumption per print, the press is built to last – and key components can be reused. Its Gemini technology means you can print both sides of sheets at the same time, while the toner has a lower melting point, saving energy.
Finally, the imagePRESS V1000 supports your sustainability goals by helping you save energy and media, especially through its Paper Deck Double Feeding Detection Kit, which eliminates misfed paper sheets and reduces downtime – so there’s no need for excess energy to start back up. The Optional Sensing Unit uses on-the-go registration adjustment to ensure fewer reprints and less waste.
In-house
In-house print rooms are working hard to further their sustainability initiatives, looking at ways to reduce energy use and media waste, as well as carbon emissions.
With the varioPRINT 140 Quartz, they can. DirectPress technology uses lower fusing temperatures, while HeatXchange technology ensures heat from printed sheets is reused to warm up incoming blank sheets. Toner can be reused again and again, with no waste toner. Customers of the Quartz enjoy an ozone-free printing environment as well.
The imagePRESS V900, meanwhile, is smaller and 18% lighter than its predecessor, enabling more efficient transportation. The device itself uses 7.5% less energy than the previous model too.
Promotional communications
In an era of increasing personalisation and environmental awareness, businesses producing promotional communications are looking to reduce their impact on the environment and demonstrate their sustainability credentials to customers.
That’s why our ProStream 2000 is designed to use energy and resources responsibly. It’s built to last, using long-life printheads with a service life of thousands of runs, so they’ll rarely need replacing. New functions and speed increases can often be retrofitted to existing installations as well. The ProStream 2000 has an availability of over 90%, minimising energy waste from downtime.
The imagePRESS V1000 helps you reduce energy and media use. The Paper Deck Double Feeding Detection kit means you don’t have to stop the system for misfed sheets, ensuring no need for extra recovery power, while misfed sheets can be reused. Consumables can be replaced during printing, using less energy, and the Optional Sensing Unit uses on-the-go registration adjustment to ensure fewer reprints and less waste.
For large format printing, the imagePROGRAF PRO series, GP (7-colour) series, and TM series have received an EPEAT Gold rating for their lower power consumption during both operation and power-off, in addition to reduced expanded polystyrene (EPS) in the packaging.
Labels and packaging
In the label segment, especially in food packaging, it is critical to have non-toxic and food-safe inks. The LabelStream LS2000 (due to be released in 2025) uses an innovative water-based ink that is not only non-toxic and does not contain SVHCs (substances of very high concern), but also complies with all key food safety regulations in the E.U. and the U.S.
The ink is categorised as non-hazardous according to E.U. regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. It also complies with the Good Manufacturing Practices Regulation (GMP EC 2023/2006) and the Plastic Implementation Measure (PIM EU 10/2011). In the U.S., the inks comply with the U.S.A. Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, which is more commonly known as FDA regulation.
The Swiss Ordinance and the Nestlé Guidance Note are strict yet voluntary requirements that have become an industry standard. The inks of the LabelStream LS2000 also meet these rules.
Interior décor
Print service providers working in the interior décor segment need to reduce their ink and energy use and produce odourless output.
Our UVgel technology, used in the Colorado printer, is GREENGUARD Gold certified. Independent research by Buyer’s Lab Inc. (BLI) shows that UVgel cuts ink use by 40% compared with traditional technologies, and because it’s cured at lower temperatures, it uses 50% less energy than traditional ink.
When used as part of the UVgel Packaging Factory, it’s often not necessary to laminate because the prints are so robust, saving materials and energy. The Colorado at the heart of system is built to last, with a steel chassis and piezoelectric printheads, making it ideal for remanufacturing. The same applies to the Colorado M5W standalone unit, which also allows you to use uncoated or recycled media.
For large format graphics, the Arizona series offers a range of features to help you work towards your sustainability goals. As an LED-UV printer, the Arizona has lower energy consumption than its predecessors. LED-UV curing uses 15% less energy than UV-halide technology, while we have replaced high-power vacuum pumps with energy-efficient blowers.
The Arizona also saves resources because you can print replicas of leather or wooden textures, and with PRISMA XL suite, you get first time right printing, reducing waste while saving time and money. Finally, Arizona ink is GREENGUARD Gold certified and vegan.
CAD
In industries such as Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Manufacturing (AEC&M), producing CAD prints and technical drawings is an essential part of daily business. But it has to support your wider sustainability initiatives.
In the case of the colorWAVE T-series – which can be linked with the Folder Express 3011 – you’ll benefit from EPEAT Silver and GREENGUARD Gold certification, as well as ENERGY STAR, because of the printer’s low energy use and non-toxic prints. More than 85% of the printer can be reused or recycled at end of life, offering a platform you can build on for the years ahead.
The plotWAVE T-series also has ENERGY STAR certification, with its Radiant Fusing technology reducing energy use. The plotWAVE T35 can print on uncoated or recycled paper, and offers good deinkability to support paper recycling. Additionally, its toner bottles are made of 50% PCR plastic on average.
imagePROGRAF printers are designed with sustainability in mind. The imagePROGRAF TZ-32000, TX series, TM series, and TC series are EPEAT Gold1 rated, with efficient power and ink consumption, and their packaging is free from expanded polystyrene (EPS). imagePROGRAF printers can run their ink tanks until the last drop, and their hot swap ink tanks2 allows printing continuously even during ink tank replacement. Furthermore, the free software suite for imagePROGRAFs – Direct Print Plus and Free Layout Plus – helps avoid misprints and ink / media waste too.
1EPEAT Gold registered for the U.S.
2except for the imagePROGRAF TC-20, TC-20M
Commercial print
Commercial printing operations are often high volume and traditionally take place at scale, making measures to reduce environmental impact crucial.
The varioPRINT iX3200 sheetfed inkjet presses, as well as the ColorStream and ProStream web-fed inkjet presses, produce no ozone. And through print-on-demand, commercial printers can offer tailored runs based on customer need, reducing waste. The ColorStream can even print during speed ramps to reduce paper waste.
The ColorStream, ProStream, and varioPRINT iX3200 are made in facilities in Germany and the Netherlands powered by 100% renewable energy.
We keep the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from our presses well below permitted levels, and the inks used in our current inkjet presses are water-based, emit low odours, and have no SVHC (substances of very high concern), so you can get Nordic Swan or Blue Angel certification for your printed goods.
With the imagePRESS V1350, the Paper Deck Double-Feeding Detection Kit reduces waste sheets and saves resources, and one-time test prints ensure the end of trial and error, even on textured media. Plus, printing on synthetic paper can eliminate the need for lamination, reducing plastic and energy use. Finally, the Optional Sensing Unit uses on-the-go registration adjustment to ensure fewer reprints and less waste.
Software
Reducing environmental impact isn’t only about hardware. By increasing the efficiency of your print operations, software can also play a significant role in supporting your sustainability goals.
Through job personalisation, file preparation, fine-tuned colour profiles, integrated imposition, intelligent job bundling, colour validation, digital proofing, automation and data-driven insights, our PRISMA software solutions help you optimise your production.
As a result, you can help to reduce the environmental impact of your printing operations by minimising waste, improving accuracy and efficiency, and reducing resource use.
With PRISMAproduce Tech and PRISMAsimulate Ultra, you can accurately preview before you print, reducing misprints and eliminating the need for wasteful test prints.
PRISMAprepare, PRISMAdirect help you take control of your print room, increasing productivity and simplifying your workflows to boost efficiency, and PRISMAproduction enables you to future-proof your business with automated workflows that increase productivity and save resources.
Meanwhile, PRISMA Cloud Services help you manage your print room and optimise your production remotely, keeping waste to a minimum.
Finally, PRISMAguide XL makes sure even complex print jobs see first-time-right results.
Support and services
We aim to bring sustainability into every aspect of our support and services operations, reducing environmental impact while maintaining the highest levels of service quality and customer satisfaction. By continuously improving our sustainability efforts, we will reduce our carbon footprint and promote a more sustainable future.
Our sustainability initiatives:
1. We collect and reuse toner bottles to reduce plastic waste and promote the circular economy.
2. We have an extensive program for collecting and reusing second-hand parts to extend the lifecycle of our products and reduce raw material use.
3. We are transitioning to an electric vehicle fleet for our field service operations, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and helping to improve air quality.
4. We carefully manage the value and age of spare parts so components are ready to use, reducing waste.
Key areas of our vision
Remanufacturing
When an Arizona printer reaches the end of its first lifecycle, we rigorously rebuild and enhance it at our site in Venlo, the Netherlands. The remanufactured Arizona matches the quality of a brand-new Arizona with up to 32% lower carbon footprint.
Digital Inkjet Printing
While digital printing offers inherent sustainability benefits, such as less waste and chemical-free production, as well as more sustainable business models, we elevate those benefits with our production inkjet technology. We consider sustainability from the start of a Canon inkjet press’ lifecycle – using sustainable or recycled materials and energy-efficient manufacturing processes.
A Second Life
All our inkjet presses qualify for refurbishment, which is carried out locally to minimise transport-related emissions. At least 80 % of the total weight of the inkjet presses’ parts can be recycled through industry standard recycling processes.
Case Studies
State-of-the-art Arizona and Colorado systems help P11 Group
Find out how P11 Group expanded their application offering within promotional comms and large format graphics, and achieved significant time savings with the Arizona and Colorado.
Automating order and job processing to optimise on-demand book production in the publishing sector
Otava Book Printing Ltd implemented the next step of their digital transformation plan with the help of Canon for more efficient book production and improved book lifecycle management.
Hacketts' journey with Canon: continuing flatbed printing excellence
Learn how Hacketts strengthened their position in the commercial print market by investing in Arizona FLOW technology.
The power of print in omnichannel marketing communications
Discover how automation and programmatic print are helping promotional comms businesses deliver truly integrated marketing campaigns on-demand.
Canon is committed to business sustainability
As part of our corporate philosophy of kyosei – living and working for the common good – we put sustainability at the heart of our business.
Water-based ink
The varioPRINT iX3200, Labelstream LS2000 (due to be released in 2025) and ProStream use Canon’s own water-based inks. According to directive 2010/75/EU the ink is VOC-free. This water-based ink dries via a combination of absorption and evaporation, and is also categorised as non-hazardous (EC/1272/2008).
Canon sustainability brochures
Articles
How promotional comms businesses can improve their sustainability
Why common assumptions about the environmental impact of digital and print marketing no longer hold true.
Future-proofing publishing through sustainable innovation
Find out how sustainable innovation can improve publishing businesses’ resilience and impact.
Sustainability: it’s in the details
Adapting to new working practices presents an incredible opportunity to assess and adjust our approach to sustainability.
The future of publishing: embracing smart books and dynamic publishing
How is digital printing helping publishers and book producers meet the challenges of shorter print runs while developing new types of books and promoting a more sustainable value-chain?
Canon Red Label Zero paper
Our more sustainable papers help businesses in the Architecture, Engineering, Engineering & Manufacturing (AEC&M) sector reduce the environmental impact of printing CAD designs and other critical technical drawings.
Looking to make your print production more sustainable?
Find out about the environmental benefits for commercial printers and publishers of Canon production inkjet technology.
Sustainability in the workspace
Find out how we can help you make your business more sustainable as part of your digital transformation.
Sustainability
Sustainability is key to our mission of using imaging to transform our world. Learn more about how we do that through our social and environmental initiatives.