LEAN GREEN PRINTING

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

The environmental pressures on the print supply chain will continue and pressures increase, withprint users keen to demonstrate their environmental credentials by using paper and board fromindependently verified sustainable sources and certified print suppliers.

In future printers will develop some form of quantitative measurements to determine the carbonfootprint of their activities, by job and by period.

The various sections in this presentation can be briefly outlined as under:

Market background: Definitions and key terms

Environment friendly Printing

The Paper Recycling Process

Paper Chain Of Custody Schemes

Printing Inks

MARKET BACKGROUND: DEFINITIONS & KEY TERMS

Market Background: Definitions & Key Terms

Carbon Sequestration: The removal and storage of carbon from theatmosphere in carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests or soils) through physicalor biological processes, such as photosynthesis.

Chain of Custody (COC): schemes and certifications are third party audit andinvestigation processes examining each step of a product’s supply chain. Thesebegin at the forest and are carried out by established forest certificationprogrammes to ensure that products carrying their label include the type offibre claimed and also meet their programme’s standards.

CTP (Computer to Plate): A type of printing prepress process in which a digitalimage is transmitted directly from a computer to a plate used on a press. TheCTP process eliminates the need for producing film (or negatives), as well asstripping and shooting plates. CTP technology serves to effectively reduce costsand increase productivity, with proponents of CTP also claiming that it offersbetter consistency and higher quality because of the elimination of the humanerror risk, since the file is transmitted digitally to the plate material.

De-inking: the process of removing printing ink from waste paper in order torecycle waste paper. The process consists of passing pulped waste paperthrough a series of punched screens, slot screens, and centrifugal purifiers tomechanically separate all non-paper components such as staples and thickadhesive layers.

Market Background: Definitions & Key Terms

Landfill: A large, outdoor site where solid waste is disposed off, usually byburying.

MIS (Management Information System): a subset of the overall internalcontrols of a business covering the application of people, documents,technologies, and procedures by management accountants solve businessproblems such as costing for a product, service or a business-wide strategy.Management information systems are used to analyze other informationsystems applied in an organization’s operational activities, thereby beingdistinct from regular information systems .

Polylactic Acid (PLA): a biodegradable, thermoplastic, aliphatic polyesterderived from renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the U.S.) orsugarcanes (rest of world). Even though PLA has been known for more than acentury, commercial interest in it has grown only recently because of itsbiodegradability.

Recycling: the process by which materials are collected and used as rawmaterials for new products.

VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds): compounds that have a high vaporpressure and low water solubility. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals thatare used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, andrefrigerants.

ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY PRINTING

Environment friendly printing

Printers and packaging manufacturers are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact in a systematic, formally accredited manner, adhering to standard methodology.

Printing’s key environmental impact factors are given below:

Paper Production

Forestry

Energy use

Transportation

Recycling and de-inking

Water use

Printing and finishing

Process & production waste and redundancy

Plastics

VOC Reduction

Ink and varnish usage

Environment friendly printing

Printing & Finishing cont’d:

Distribution

Apparent over-packaging

Energy and water use

Product disposal

Recycling

Landfill

Carbon sequestration.

Core activities to be undertaken by Printers for maintaining an Environment-friendly focus:

• Printers will have to source paper and board from certified, well-managed forest sources, or usepost-consumer waste.

• Paper and board will increasingly be post-consumer recycled, or will be from certified forestrysources, with chain of custody such as FSC, PEFC or SFI a minimum for the majority of printedproducts.

Environment friendly printing

• Lesser set-up and running waste will be required, with printers ordering exact quantities and notaccepting the current trade tolerances.

• Printers will use more ‘lean’ manufacturing and administration processes with waste reduction a keycomponent.

• Companies will also operate a formal, accredited environmental management system developingfrom ISO 14001, with significant measures reported as accounts.

• The carbon footprint measures will be applied and companies will work actively to reduce theirimpact. New technology will also be widely applied.

• New management information systems (MIS) tools will eliminate internal waste and errors; they willcontinually monitor production inputs and outputs, recording the carbon footprint impact andproviding early warnings that will highlight earlier management action.

• Premises will employ more energy-efficient features throughout, to improve environmentalperformance and also to reduce costs.

• Centralised compressors and pumps can offer savings over individual equipment on presses andequipment.

• New lighting and heating systems will be used in factories and offices; waste heat from presses anddriers will be utilised, and there will be sustainable energy generation such as solar panels and windturbines installed along with generators to provide back-up power sources.

Environment friendly printing

• Press manufacturers are now using more independent servo-controlled motors to drive theirpresses, and this will also reduce energy consumption.

• Machines will contain sensors and links back to the supplier, who can then monitor and advise onpreventative maintenance so as to ensure optimal performance.

• Print companies are ordering consumables in returnable, re-usable containers. All packagingmaterials, including ink containers, will be recycled, with larger printers buying ink and coatings inhigh-volume refillable containers or refillable cartridge dispensers.

• More plates are being exposed in CTP (Computer to Plate) systems with no chemistry or processingrequired.

• On presses, better temperature and process control will reduce the need for alcohol in the fount.Press wash-up will be through closed automatic systems with all liquid waste collected and recycled.

• Heatset and solvent ink users will use solvent recovery systems, with waste solvents used to heatafterburners and factories.

• All solid, liquid and atmospheric emissions will be recorded and sent to suitable waste treatmenthandlers.

• There will be significant strides made in bindery and finishing technology to minimise set-up andprocess waste, particularly for very short digital runs, where new techniques such as laser cutting andscoring will reduce the need for dies and tools.

Environment friendly printing

• All waste will be segregated and re-used where practical and recycled with plates and packagingwaste. Most companies will run formal waste reduction schemes as part of their lean agenda.

• Formal environmental accreditation is useful for demonstrating to customers that businesses aretaking concrete action rather than pretending to do so.

• Systems such as ISO 14000, FSC, PEFC, SFI, PAS 2050 (carbon footprint), Acorn BS8555, GreenDragon, or the EMAS Eco-Management and Audit Scheme will be used.

• These above systems will be developed into accredited carbon footprint methods and printers willprovide the results on a project by project basis to customers and for company performances over aperiod.

• Currently there are several embryonic carbon footprint calculators available but these provide verydifferent results and have little scientific credibility. The Carbon Trust offers a broad outline athttp://www.carbontrust.co.uk/solutions/CarbonFootprinting/FootprintCalculators.htm

• Companies can log in and provide a variety of input to work out their impact, alongwith receivingadvice and consultation on the steps necessary to minimise their environmental impact. These willdevelop into properly accredited tools well before 2018 and will become part of the MIS.

• Advanced systems will calculate the relative impacts of multimedia campaigns, as the use ofelectronic systems – email and websites – have their own environmental impacts, with significantpower use (US power consumption in the data server industry is at par with the energy consumptionof the paper industry, although much of that energy is from burning waste biomass).

Environment friendly printing

• There will be major issues over recycling or disposal of computers and servers. These tools will beused by the design department to build a specification to minimise the environmental impact, forexample the use of varnish lamination, or the effect of a 115gsm stock against 130gsm, taking intoaccount the cost of postage.

• The choice of alternative materials and production methods will have different environmentalimpacts, and these will be provided with the estimate and will be a factor in determining where jobsare placed.

• Packaging suppliers and retailers will face different kinds of pressure to minimise excessivepackaging. Consumer pressure will lead to better package design and appropriate use of materials.

• Outside the control of the printer, significant environmental benefits will be gained by buyersordering appropriate quantities of product.

• Book and magazine publishers will move away from sale or return models, with retailers providingbetter demand profiling and ordering smaller quantities.

• This will reduce the quantities of unsold print products that go for re-pulping unread. For printers, itwill be another driver to reduce print run length.

THE PAPER RECYCLING PROCESS

The Paper Recycling Process

Recycled Paper – Definition & Attributes

• There is no single definition for recycled paper. In the US the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)defines it as 30% post-consumer waste, while WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme)suggests that recycled paper should be 70% of recovered fibre.

• The NAPM (UK National Association of Paper Makers) meanwhile quotes ‘The Sustainable OfficeForum (TSOF)’ checklist, that states: recycled paper should include as high a proportion of post-consumer waste fibre as possible.

• Recycling one tonne of newsprint saves about one tonne of wood, while a tonne of fine paper savesa little more than two tonnes of wood. Most of the wood used for paper and board (certainly indeveloped markets) comes from farmed tree sources with fast growing trees being replanted toreplace the harvested ones.

• The main benefit for recycling is to reduce the landfill burden. As paper decomposes, it releasesmethane which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas when not collected and burnt as fuel.

• The EIA (Energy Information Administration, part of the US Department of Energy) claims a 40%reduction can be attributed to recycling, while the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) claims a64% reduction.

• Virgin pulp making burns waste bark and chemicals from the trees, while recycling uses energy fromthe national grid that often involves fossil fuels, as many recycling plants are located in urban areas.The US EPA has found that recycling causes 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution.

The Paper Recycling Process

Key Steps in the Paper Recycling Process

Twine and strapping, etc, is removed from the stream by a ‘ragger’, metal straps and staples can be screened out or removed by a magnet

Repulping in water – applying mechanical action to separate fibres from each other

Screening – using screens with either slots or holes, to catch contaminants that are larger than pulp fibres

Centrifugal cleaning – spinning the pulp slurry causes materials that are denser than pulp fibres to move outward for removal

De-inking – passing air bubbles through the pulp with a surfactant that causes ink particles to collect with the foam on the surface. By removing contaminated foam,pulp is made brighter

Washing to remove small particles by passing water through the pulp

Bleaching, with peroxides or hydrosulphites, to remove colour from the pulp

Paper-making – the recovered fibre is made into new paper or board in the same way that virgin paper is made

Dissolved air flotation – Process water is cleaned for reuse

The Paper Recycling Process

Waste disposal of unusable material (mostly ink, plastics, staples, filler and short fibres) – sludge –may be incinerated to provide energy at the mill, used as a fertilizer or as a filler for building and road materials.

An overview of the Paper Recycling Process

Recycling mills may have polluting by-products, such as sludge. De-inking at Cross Pointe’s Miami,Ohio, US, mill results in sludge weighing 22% of the weight of wastepaper recycled, althoughimproved techniques reduce this byproduct.

In 2008, scientists developed a method of removing one of the most difficult contaminants, ink, withan enzymatic catalyst approach rather than with expensive and polluting chemicals.

There is debate about the use of radiation-cured inks and coatings, flexo printed newspapers anddigital print, particularly inkjet, as there are issues with the de-inking processes.

As of September 2008, Hewlett-Packard, InfoPrint Solutions Company, Kodak and Océ have beendeveloping a Digital Print De-Inking Alliance.

This above alliance will conduct research to assess digital print compatibility with de-inking andpaper recycling processes worldwide, focusing on printer, paper and chemical additive solutions, andtheir various combinations, with the aim of promoting best practice in recycling standards across theindustry. The Alliance has stated its commitment to seek co-operation from all relevant industries.

The Paper Recycling Process

While currently many recycling companies do have the capability to deal with digitally printed paper,the need for a worldwide industry standard is clear.

The industry would definitely benefit from research into different print technologies and the bestrecycling processes to use.

In conventional newspaper printing, drying is accomplished by absorption of the ink oils into thepaper structure.

The oils in offset news inks never totally dry. In newspaper flexo, the water-based inks dry and forma hard film layer of acrylic polymer and pigment.

Flotation de-inking is not adequate to remove the cellulose fibre bond and dry ink film. However,flexo news has been successfully recycled using a combination of washing and flotation.

A typical problem with flexo news deinking is that secondary pulp yield is reduced and thebrightness may be lower.

The problem with de-inking water-based ink on uncoated paper has drawn attention to publicationprinters in general, who are continuing to work towards the use of water-based ink in gravurepublications.

De-inking of these products at the wide, and widening scale required will pose more of a challenge.

PAPER CHAIN OF CUSTODY SCHEMES

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes

The need for a more meaningful and consistent classification of the environmental impact of paperand board has led to the concept of independent assessment, with formal chain of custody schemesobtaining wide support from the industry, government and environmental groups.

The method favoured is an independent endorsement of the sourcing of paper, using adocumented chain of custody from forest to pulpmill to papermill to merchant to printer/converter toretailer to consumer.

At each stage of the chain, the body is identified and records the source and destination of theproduct, using an identification mark on the output that is recorded by the next converter. This allowseach product to guarantee to consumers that it comes from a well-managed source.

As with most aspects of the graphic arts there are choices to make: to which scheme should youbecome accredited. The most widely used schemes are PEFC, FSC and in North America, SFI.

These schemes are explained below:

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)

• This is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, founded in 1999, that promotessustainably managed forests through independent third-party certification.

• The PEFC provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that they arepromoting the sustainable management of forests.

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes

• PEFC has in its membership 35 independent national forest certification systems, of which 25 to datehave been through a rigorous assessment process, involving public consultation and the use ofindependent assessors to provide the assessments on which mutual recognition decisions are takenby the membership.

• These 25 systems account for more than 200 million hectares of certified forests, producing millionsof tonnes of certified timber to the marketplace, making PEFC the world’s largest certification system.

• The other national members’ schemes are at various stages of development and are workingtowards mutual recognition under the PEFC processes.

• PEFC-recognised forest certification denotes sustainable forest management and consumption ofwood as a renewable, environmentally friendly raw material.

• The stewardship and use of forests and forest land should be conducted in a way, and at a rate, thatmaintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and potential to fulfil, nowand in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national and globallevels, and does not cause damage to other ecosystems.

• The PEFC logo should have the code of the mill/merchant/printer/converter included, so allowing atrace to be made if necessary.

• To achieve accreditation, the company must prove that it operates a robust system to ensure thatthere is no chance of mixing raw materials, and that all stock is accurately monitored.

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes

SFI – A PEFC-based scheme

• The Sustainable Forestry Initiative(SFI) is a PEFC-based scheme operating in North America.

• SFI Inc. is an independent, charitable organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable forestmanagement, working with conservation groups, local communities, resource professionals,landowners, and other organisations and individuals.

• The standard is used widely across North America, and has strong acceptance in the globalmarketplace, delivering a steady supply of third-party certified wood from well-managed forests.

The SFI Logo

Source: PEFC

The PEFC Logo The FSC Logo

Source: SFI Source: FSC

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes

SFI cont’d:

• SFI forest certification promotes responsible forestry practices. To be certified, forest operationsacross the US and Canada must be audited against the SFI forest standard.

• SFI chain of custody certification extends into the marketplace by tracking fibre content fromcertified lands through production and manufacturing to the end product.

• SFI fibre sourcing requirements address the reality of global fibre markets and the fact that only 10%of the world’s forests are certified.

• Programme participants must ensure the raw material in their supply chain comes from legal andresponsible sources, whether the forests are certified or not.

• In 2005, the SFI programme was endorsed by PEFC after a detailed examination by a PEFC-approvedassessor – from its development to its forestry content, chain of custody certification andaccreditation policies. This endorsement adds international value to SFI’s position as a highlyrespected, third-party certification program in North America.

FSC – Forestry Stewardship Council

• The Forestry Stewardship Council is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisationestablished to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

• The FSC provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companiesand organisations keen on responsible forestry.

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes

• All FSC-certified forests must comply with the FSC’s rules about how the forests should and shouldnot be managed.

• When a forester decides to become FSC-certified, he or she will make changes to comply with therelevant FSC requirements. Thus, the FSC has a direct and permanent positive impact on the world’sforests and the people living from, in and around the forest.

• The FSC principles and criteria describe how the forests have to be managed to meet the social,economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations. They includemanagerial aspects as well as environmental and social requirements.

Summary of FSC’s functions:

Prohibit conversion of forests or any other natural habitat

Respect of international workers rights

Prohibition of use of hazardous chemicals

Respect of human rights with particular attention to indigenous peoples

No corruption – following of all applicable laws

Identification and appropriate management of areas that need special protection (e.g.cultural orsacred sites, habitat of endangered animals or plants)

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes

The 10 FSC Principles

Principle 1: Compliance with all applicable laws and international treaties

Principle 2: Demonstrated and uncontested, clearly defined, long-term land tenure & use rights

Principle 3: Recognition and respect of indigenous peoples’ rights

Principle 4: Maintenance or enhancement of long-term social and economic well-being of forestworkers and local communities and respect of worker’s rights in compliance with ILO conventions

Principle 5: Equitable use and sharing of benefits derived from the forest

Principle 6: Reduction of environmental impact of logging activities and maintenance of theecological functions and integrity of the forest

Principle 7:Appropriate and continuously updated management plan

Principle 8: Appropriate monitoring and assessment activities to assess the condition of the forest,management activities and their social and environmental impacts

Principle 9: Maintenance of high-conservation value forests (HCVFs), defined as environmental andsocial values that are considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance

Principle 10: In addition to compliance with all of the above, plantations must contribute to reducethe pressures on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.

PRINTING INKS

Printing Inks

• Conventional offset printing inks can contain petroleum distillate, vegetable oil or a mixture of the two.

• The choice of options and their effect on the environment raises a number of pertinent issues involving the use of raw materials from renewable resources, freedom from volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, reduced hazards to human health and whether the printed waste is recyclable.

Categories Petroleum Distillate Vegetable Oil

Source Hydrocarbons from coal and crude oil

Mixed fatty acid glycerides from plants and trees

Typical Examples Distillate with boilingrange 260–290°C

Linseed, soya, tall, rapeseed, tung, coconut and castor oils

Health & Safety Non-hazardous Non-hazardous

Environmentally Sustainable Resource

No Yes

Classified as VOC in Ink & Drying

No No

Table: Characteristics of oils in sheet-fed offset printing inks

Printing Inks

Sustainability and Green Alternatives for the future

• Sustainable and green options will be more in demand in the next 10 years. Social responsibilitycalls for replacing harmful inks with biodegradable ones.

• Inkmakers are exploring alternative raw material sources to oil, the so-called green polymers.There has been much work to replace mineral oil with sustainable sources.

• For example, soybased oils are popular in North America, while vegetable-based inks are growingin importance. Other materials can also be sourced from sustainable resources.

Categories Petroleum Distillate Vegetable Oil

Print Recyclable Yes Yes, but can be more difficult with aged prints

Ink Setting Speed Excellent Good

Hardness of drying Good Good

Table: Characteristics of oils in sheet-fed offset printing inks cont’d:

Source: Pira International Ltd

Printing Inks

• In some regions, the use of vegetable oils to replace petroleum distillates is being actively promotedboth through legislation and by aggressive lobbying from interested parties citing environmental,technical and safety reasons.

• In other countries, however, vegetable oils are still viewed less positively, leading to some debate ontheir relative merits and concerns about potential deforestation as a by-product of growing crops foroil and bio-diesel. Fluctuations in oil prices will also change the economic benefits.

• Sheet-fed inks containing petroleum distillates, vegetable oils or a mixture have been available fordecades.

• Petroleum distillates are used to give fast ink setting and nonset- off properties, while vegetable oils,primarily linseed and tung oil, are included for their oxidation drying properties.

• More products will be formulated using sustainable resource raw materials, thus providing anenvironmentally friendly option for the printer when using these products in conjunction with low-alcohol founts and low-VOC washes. Sun Chemical,for example, has launched what it claims to be thefirst UV sheet-fed inks that use 30% sustainable material - Suncure Advantage.

• Other renewable raw materials are also being examined and will become commonly used products in course of time. Sugars from wood hydrolysates and corn starch can be fermented to lactic acid, and when polymerised it produces plastics like urethanes, polyesters and polyols, that can be used for ink.

• Polylactic acid (PLA) is already being used for the preparation of emulsion polymers and green polymers for biodegradable ink.

Printing Inks

• Biodegradable pigments may be derived from plant sources or marine algae. They are already known, but they do not perform favourably compared to well-established organic synthetic pigments.

• Biodegradable liquid inks will come from water-based chemistry or formulated with green solvents such as ethanol, 1,3-propanediol, and esters based on biomass derivatives.

Environmental, Health & Safety Concerns

• Environmental and health & safety concerns are increasing weighing on manufacturers. Ink industrybodies help to reduce and outlaw potentially harmful materials, promoting alternatives to volatileorganic compounds for the benefit of the planet as well as the pressroom.

• The European Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances(REACH) legislation on chemicals is a major challenge for European ink makers. The intention is toprovide a safer, healthier world and it will involve every chemical marketed in an EU country beingregistered for intended use.

• The use of difficult-to-recycle materials will be largely eliminated, with UV varnish and OPPlaminates used sparingly with water-based coatings more prevalent along with biodegradablelaminates.

• Flexo and gravure will largely eliminate the use of aromatic solvents, especially in developedmarkets.

• Inkjet inks will also be dominated by UV and aqueous formulations, with eco solvent gradesreplacing more aggressive solvent-based inks and with MEK and acetone largely eliminated.

Printing Inks

Packaging & the Environment

• Packaging is an integral and essential part of the industrial and commercial supply chain.

• It protects goods from damage, allows efficient transport distribution, offers convenience, prolongsshelf-life, enables easy use, informs the consumer and helps to promote goods in a competitivemarketplace.

• As well as protecting and preserving goods, packaging carries vital information about ingredients,keeps hazardous products away from children, and ensures goods are safe (where packaging cannotbe opened without showing evidence of tampering).

• The popularly presented image of packaging often fails to recognise the contribution that it makes tomodern lifestyle and exaggerates its environmental impact.

• Attention is usually focused on the waste generated by used sales packaging .This ignores the factthat packaging protects far more resources than it uses and that it reduces overall waste.

• INCPEN(The Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment)has carried out a lot of research,including commissioning studies, on a wide range of social and environmental aspects of packaging. Itpromotes not the removal, but the use of lower impact packaging.

About Pira International

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• For more information please contact:Stephen Hill on +44 (0) 1372 802 025

(stephen.hill@pira-international.com)