environment
dxp print solutions: committed to eco-friendly printing
You can’t be in business these days without at least being aware of the climate crisis, from the dangers of plastic to our dependence on fossil fuels. We at dxp print solutions are committed to offering eco-friendly printing to our customers.
Growing numbers of companies, from vast, global conglomerates to the busiest solopreneur are listening to consumer demand for cleaner, greener products and services, ways of working that have a minimal impact on the environment and leave little or no carbon footprint.
At dxp print solutions, we’ve already put in place several strategies, processes and machinery that have reduced our impact on the planet, and we’re always looking for new and better ways to work and deliver the best quality printed products to our customers.
Let’s take a closer look at what we as a local printer are doing to support our commitment to eco printing.
Paper sourcing
Eco-friendly printing requires three key materials, and the first is paper. Depending on the customer’s needs and preferences, our estimating team will order either FSC or fully recycled paper.
Many of our customers are already aware of the importance of sustainability to their business - it’s something they can shout about to their customers - which makes paper selection very important.
We’re also a member of the Carbon Balancing scheme, operated by the World Land Trust. This means that every tonne of paper we buy through the scheme has had its carbon impacts balanced, through protecting the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats.
It also means you can use the accredited logos on your printed products, to show the world that you’re doing your bit.
Is there a difference between virgin paper and recycled material?
In terms of printing quality, there’s not much to choose between the two, though it depends on the project, its intended market and particular specifications.
However, when it comes to sustainability, eco-friendly papers win hands down. Studies have shown one metric ton of paper product generated an average 942kg of carbon dioxide, largely generated by the fuel used in the paper-making process.
In contrast, recycled paper, which can be supplied carbon balanced, saves around 40% of those emissions. That’s almost 377 kg per tonne. Pretty cool, right?
What is FSC?
Good question. It stands for Forest Stewardship Council, an international non-profit organisation that promotes and supports the responsible management of the world's forests.
It is driving the global trend toward the sustainable use, conservation, restoration and respect for all forests.
You’ve probably seen FSC certified labels on all sorts of items, from garden furniture to the box your breakfast cereal came in, and perhaps not given it much thought, beyond it being something ‘green’.
That tick-and-tree symbol is tiny but mighty: it proves the wood or paper used to manufacture your table or box came from sustainable forests and trees, whose management meets FSC’s rigorous social and environmental standards.
An FSC certified label can also tell you if the product was made with 100% recycled content or a mix. It enables us in the print industry, our supply chain and every other business using FSC materials to say with absolute authority our product is sustainably sourced and environmentally friendly.
It’s why many businesses looking to ditch plastic have switched to FSC products.
Printing plates go green
Printing has come a long way since the days of Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. We think he would be thrilled by the magic we can weave with our Heidelberg printing presses!
The print industry, like so many others, was revolutionised by the arrival of digital technology, and innovations continue to take us as a company in new and interesting directions, without having a negative environmental impact.
One of the biggest changes to our factory came with chemical-free printing plates, a green technology the prepress department at dxp print solutions embraced wholeheartedly five years ago.
Better for our people and the planet
Traditionally, plate production and development was a complex business involving hazardous chemicals. The process required a lot of energy and water and when it came to pollution… well it was definitely not emission-free.
Then, along came chemical-free versions, sometimes known as wash-off plates, which eliminated the requirement for film and the hardware to develop it.
There is no longer the need to recover sliver that chemical plates produce from wastewater and staff are no longer exposed to toxic chemicals. As if that wasn’t smart enough, chemical-free plates also offer up to 250,000 impressions.
Combine that with recycled paper and other recyclable materials and it’s easy to see how green changes in the print sector and our company can have a positive impact on the planet.
Automation + eco printing
Alongside evolving materials, technology has also helped encourage the print sector to become more efficient, creating less waste while at the same time taking quality to the highest level.
But it’s not just about doing things faster to please clients, or reducing the amount of plastic packaging we use at dxp print solutions. Sustainability and consideration for the environment can be baked into every aspect of our print process.
Take our press room’s automated colour control scanner, for instance. It has halved the amount of waste generated by our print runs and saves up to 250 sheets of paper at a time. Ingenious and very eco-friendly!
Vegetable inks help cut our carbon footprint
So, we’ve covered the paper and the print technology that is helping our team at dxp print solutions deliver on our sustainable commitments. That leaves us with the last of the three key resources to play a role in eco-friendly printing: the inks.
One of the oldest materials in the world
Ink has been around for centuries. The ancient Egyptians used a form of soot called lampblack, made with burned wood, oil and water, to scribble on their papyrus way back in 26 BC.
From Gutenberg to mass-production
Interestingly, the ink Gutenberg used for his revolutionary printing press, wasn’t what many people would call ink. It was closer to a varnish or oil paint, so it stuck to the metal types.
His machine opened the floodgates to industrial printing, but it took until 1977 for the first ever successful colour print job. There’s a nugget for the next pub quiz!
Green inks = eco friendly print
Now, of course, the drive to operate sustainably and in an eco friendly manner means we at dxp print solutions turned our attention to the range of inks we were using in our processes, and their impact on the environment.
We chose to use vegetable based inks, generally made from linseed oils derived from flax seed.
As well as being kind to the environment, our quality four-colour process inks have a gorgeous, intense pigment which means we actually use less of them. They last longer, and that benefits our business.
How much does dxp print solutions recycle each week?
All this waste material is processed into 1,000-litre bins and collected every week and processed for recycling.
The big question is, how much does all of it add up to.
The answer? around two tonnes each week!
Two tonnes of recycled material goes back into the production chain, saving energy and resources, helping maintain a brilliant, green ecosystem driven by companies and businesses like ours, looking to ensure what they produce is green, limits energy consumption, cuts plastic and - for us - enables eco friendly printing. It’s amazing!
The role of ‘recycle, reuse, reduce’ in the printing industry
But our commitment doesn’t stop there - we’re also big fans of the “recycle reuse reduce” philosophy at dxp print solutions.
We’ve invested in green technologies, boosted recycled materials stocks and reduced our energy and plastic consumption, solid measures that have made us proud.
But even the tiniest gestures count, which is why even efforts from smaller companies are important.
We use quality, recyclable cloths on the litho press that are collected monthly, washed and returned, ready to be reused over again, saving energy and resources. It’s simple but smart and effective.
contact us for all your sustainable printing needs
If you’re looking for a local printer that can create and print amazing products, but also cares deeply about their green credentials, why not drop us a line at info@dxpprint.com where you can talk to us for advice about the recyclable materials you want to use in your latest project
let’s have a chat!
Chat with us live using the 'want to chat?' button below, phone the team in our Essex office on 01268 732109 or use our contact form to note down your needs, and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.