“People tend to think of printing very traditionally – magazines and the like,” says Peter Bragg, our EMEA Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs. “But, if you look around you, just about everything is printed – cardboard boxes, food packaging, birthday cards. The size of the industry is huge and hasn't been standing still in terms of sustainability.”
It’s certainly been top priority for us to take this most essential part of culture, commerce and daily life in the most responsible direction possible. It’s something we’ve been doing for a really long time – and the results speak for themselves. We view our work to create a responsible lifecycle for print as the blueprint for the industry and do it in three really important ways:
Printing what’s needed, nothing more.
“Traditional offset printing was designed for high-volume mass production,” explains Peter. “But digital inkjet printing offers more flexibility and control over the resources used”. The knock-on effects of this are obvious – no excess print runs means less energy and media consumed. On top of this, our inkjet presses are engineered for round-the-clock heavy-duty usage and meet the Nordic Swan’s standard for low energy consumption, one of the toughest and most respected environmental certifications. Together, this means that responsible businesses can now actively seek out Print Service Providers which offer sustainability certified inkjet printing solutions.
Being conscious of chemistry
According to the European Printing Ink Association, ink makes up less than 1% to 2% of a printed page's total weight. However, this is disproportionate in terms of its environmental and health impacts, as its chemical formulation – pigment, binders and oils – dictates its level of toxicity and whether the paper it sits on can be de-inked and recycled.
Printing ink can be toxic? Well, yes. Consider the smell of solvent-based inks – really quick drying, but, for those working with them, they can have long-term health implications. Other inks can contain chemicals that simply cannot break down naturally. “This is something we have entire R&D teams working on,” says Peter. “All our inks are low-emission and water-based but, just as importantly, none of our pigment inks contain dyes, which supports the de-inking process”. There are so many reasons why companies might seek out inks of this standard – food or cosmetic packaging, for example, or rigorous sustainable procurement standards. Either way, these kinds of inks are taking the industry in a really positive direction.
Making machines built to last
“We’re so behind the idea of remanufacturing and refurbishing our machines that we’ve been doing it for the best part of thirty years,” says Peter. “But it’s something we examine constantly to see where and how improvements can be made – and this even happens at the point of design”. Every model is created with the knowledge that at some time in the future it will need to be upgraded. “As a result, all of our web-fed inkjet presses installed since 2008 are still in the market,” he says, adding, “and our designs are simply becoming more and more modular as time goes on, which makes the process of remanufacturing and refurbishing increasingly easier”.
Our hubs in Venlo, in the Netherlands, and Poing in Germany give a second life to Canon inkjet presses, stripping them down to the bare frame and attending to every component – cleaned checked, repaired or replaced – to make sure they pass rigorous quality tests. We are so confident in these machines that we even issue them with brand-new warranties, equivalent to that of a new model. For businesses and sectors that operate to tighter budgets, as well as those which want to commit to a more sustainable choice, these printers represent a really economical and responsible investment.
Certainly, this evidence suggests that digital inkjet print is the right direction of travel for those who care about the impact of their print, both from a sustainability and cost effectiveness point of view. “These benefits are just the tip if the iceberg, but just through these alone, it’s clear that digital print has a bright future,” stressed Peter. “The end result is extremely high-quality, with all the benefits of traditional offset printing, but it's also more and more sustainable.”
Learn more about our sustainability initiatives in production print.
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