Sustainable Printing

My recent trip to Israel for the HP pre-drupa meeting, got me thinking about a few things.

During the event, I had the opportunity to get a glimpse at some of the new technology that HP plans to present at the upcoming drupa trade fair in Germany. Included in the new product announcement is a new aqueous-based ink made with latex polymers. It's actually very interesting to take a look at how they formulated the ink in order to get it to perform the way they want it to on solvent and UV media.

But, the real goal of the new ink is to replace traditional aggressive solvent inks and printers with a more environmentally-friendly one. According to HP, the new latex inks emit very low VOCs (requiring no special ventilation), do not produce ozone emissions during printing, and contain no hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) or sensitizers.

HP is not the only company trying to provide a more environmentally-friendly solution. We've already seen the BioVu ink from EFI VUTEk. Additionally, the new solvent printer from Epson is designed with a low-VOC solvent ink. Other inks companies are also looking at alternative ink solutions as environmental issues and concerns become more and more important to print providers and print buyers alike.

But ink is only part of the equation—an important part, yes—but there is much more that needs to be addressed. Media is a huge product segment and currently there are only a handful of products that can be considered environmentally-friendly. Some have recycled content, while others are natural fibers. Some of the newer media have been designed with biodegradability in mind.

So, unless you're printing with environmentally-friendly inks on materials that are biodegradable, you're only getting half of the benefits if you're only using one of the two.

But then, environmentally-friendly solutions are just the tip of the proverbial sustainability iceberg. In the special section on sustainability (beginning on page 36), Marci Kinter discusses all of the elements that are involved with being—or becoming—a sustainable printing company. And while there is a lot involved, you don't have to be the one scouting ahead into uncharted territory. Steve Shaw spoke with several shops that have already made commitments to reducing their environmental footprints. Additionally, these companies are also working with the newly formed SGP to develop guidelines and criteria for companies wishing to become a sustainable printer.

Also, for more information about the new HP inks, the Epson printer, or the SGP, you can point your browser to the links in the resource box on this page.