Monday, March 14, 2016

The Adoption Of Sustainable Digital Printing

By Richard Patterson


Due to sustained campaigns against global warming, many industries are under immense pressure to change the methods that they have used in their operations for decades. The printing industry is one of those that have been identified as contributing to carbon emissions at a number of stages. To conform to the new order of things, many are becoming more innovative which is helping conserve the environment and cut down costs. Sustainable digital printing can be achieved on a number of ways.

One of the areas in which major changes can be made is in the types of inks that are used. The conventional types contain chemicals that release pollutants known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds are created when the chemicals are exposed to nitrogen oxide and sunlight in the environment. A layer of ozone in the low atmosphere is formed. This layer is undesirable as it contributes to widespread smog formation.

The type of paper that is used also determines whether the process is eco friendly or not. Virgin paper is obtained directly from trees and is therefore a direct contributor of increased deforestation rates. Recycled, paper on the other hand, is derived from waste paper. Increased use of recycled paper helps in the conservation of one of our most valued natural resources that is forests. During processing, recycled paper produces less waste.

Proof reading of manuscripts is one of the areas that has been shown to significantly increase paper needs. Fortunately, the increased acceptance of email for this purpose is one of the changes that has helped a great deal in this area. Apart from reducing the amount of paper, this change has made it easy for writers to keep track of their work as it undergoes the various stages of the process.

Apart from paper, there are other raw materials that can also be recycled or reused. Water is perhaps the easiest to be put back into the process. One of the areas where recycled water can be put into good use is in the washing of printers. It has been shown that up to 65% of water that is used can be reused. The other materials that should be considered for reuse and recycling include waste paper, ink and aluminum plates.

Make sure that the printing machines that you use in your firm are energy efficient. While this may be a bit costly to implement in one phase, most people find it easier to do it progressively over time. They replace old, inefficient equipment with new equipment that gives higher input for each kilowatt of electricity used. Strive to use more renewable energy sources in the form of wind and solar power and cut down on fossil fuels.

Digital printing is also widely used in fabrics these days. The changes that are taking place in paper printing are also being applied to fabrics with tremendous success. One of the unique stages involved in the case of fabrics is pretreatment. This stage involves the use of chemicals whose major byproduct is urea. Urea is in turn broken down to release carbon dioxide. This one of the processes that has been eliminated and alternatives developed.

Adopting green energy solutions has widespread benefits both to the printing firm and the consumer. The cheaper costs of operation are usually passed on to the consumer who enjoys fair priced items. Most importantly, they both participate in environmental conservation.




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