Green printing

Green Printing Policy

We launched our website with the sole intention of providing affordable and certified green printing solutions. We care passionately about the environment and are one of a handful of printing companies in the UK to have achieved both ISO14001 and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)Certification.
"Fall is my favourite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change colour and fall from the trees"David Letterman

FSC Approved Printing Company

FSC Approved Printing Company Certification, audited by the Soil Association, is our most recent environmental award and acknowledges that we have been audited and are deemed competent to be part of the FSC Chain of Custody Process.
This allows us to print on FSC Certified Papers and provide you with a guaranteed FSC product that has been tracked from its point of origin to the point of it being printed and dispatched.
Only FSC Approved Printers with the FSC Chain of Custody Certification may print the FSC Logo - known as a claim - onto your order when using FSC Certified Paper or FSC Recycled Paper.

ISO14001 Certified

We are also ISO14001 certified. This international standard specifies the actual requirements for an effective Environmental Management System. It applies to those environmental aspects over which the organisation has control and can be expected to have an influence.
This simply means that we are one of a small percentage of printers in the UK that has put its money where its mouth is and is certified as doing its very best for the environment and not just paying lip service or talking about it!

ALP Green Printing Policy Statement:-

This is our policy in detail which we are always striving to enhance and expand:

Paper

• All paper, board and packaging used meets our stringent environmental specifications and as a minimum these materials are ECF or TCF - Elementally or Totally Chlorine Free - which is the kindest way to bleach the pulp.
• We actively encourage and promote the use of FSC Certified Paper, 100% Recycled Paper or paper containing an element of recycled fibre.
• Our website products are all printed on FSC Papers or 100% Recycled Paper.

Reduce or Avoid the use of Chemicals

• We use an inert water based protective coating sealant on many of our products which is an eco-friendly alternative to polymer based coatings, "litho seal" and plastic laminates.
• We run IPA - isopropyl alcohol - free on our printing presses, as opposed to the industry average of 8%.
• Our inks are vegetable oil based - specifically linseed oil - as opposed to mineral oil.
• The removal of IPA alcohol and use of vegetable ink has virtually eliminated our emissions of VOC's - Volatile Organic Compounds - into the atmosphere. These VOC's are a major source of ozone pollution and are a potential a health hazard to our staff.
• We promote full colour printing which uses significantly less chemicals, solvents and paper in job setup and press cleaning than traditional one or two colour printing.
• We offer quality Digital Print solutions specifically for short-runs.

Reduce and Recycle Waste

• We have reduced our unavoidable production waste of paper and chemicals by up to 85% and will continue to seek ways to further reduce such waste.
• We segregate, re-use and recycle all of the paper waste produced in the course of printing.
• Waste paper and used aluminium printing plates are collected for recycling, as are all of our spent chemicals.
• We invested in the latest production equipment which is more efficient and less wasteful of materials in the first place.

Legislation Compliance

• We are fully compliant with the Hazardous Waste Act 2005 and waste is segregated and collected for recycling by licensed contractors.
• We are assessed anually by independent auditors to ensure we conform legally and continue to improve as a requirement of our ISO14001 certification.

Energy Consumption

• Our Ryobi 755 printing presses consume 50% less electricity than popular competing machines - to put this into perspective this equates to a monetary saving of over £5.00 per hour!
• Equipment is chosen to be more efficient - faster setup and running speeds ensure more output per Kw of electricity used. 

Green Office

• This is another area where A Local Printer has taken positive steps. Please read our article on Greening your Office for more information.

Removing Cost Barriers

• We encourage the use of batch printed products such as our Flyers Printing service, which reduce production waste by up to 95% whilst delivering massive cost savings to our customers.
• We continue to remove the cost barriers that previously discouraged customers from adopting the use of environmentally friendly green printing.
• Our buying power enables us to purchase eco-friendly paper and materials at a lower cost than many printers pay for conventional alternatives.
• Investment in the latest equipment enables alocalprinter.com to remain highly competitive.
• Online ordering reduces the cost of sale - savings which are passed onto our customers.

Removing Quality Barriers

• We have eliminated the quality barriers that previously discouraged customers from adopting the use of recycled paper and eco friendly materials.
• The vegetable oil based inks used on our printing presses deliver an increase in print quality over conventional mineral oil based inks.
• Investment in the latest and most efficient equipment delivers a higher quality of printed product than the industry average.

Advice

• We assist our customers in making the best choice if they require an alternative to our standard products but still want their print to be as green as possible.

Commitment

• Environmental issues remain at the forefront of our decision making - we are committed to the environment and do our very best at all times to deliver truly eco-friendly green printing services.

http://www.alocalprinter.com/uk/green-printing/

Soy ink benefits

Soy ink and the environment

Soy ink may be the solution to the environmental health and safety concerns of the printing industry. A new study confirms that soy ink can help to reduce the environmental burden of the printing industry. Soybean oil comes from a renewable source: soybeans. Soybeans beans are widely available at low cost. Soybean agriculture uses only 0.5 percent of the total energy needed to produce soy ink. Almost half of all soybeans produced in America needs no irrigation. As soybeans are growing they temporarily remove damaging carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere.

Soy ink is naturally low in VOCs (volatile organic compounds, chemical compounds that evaporate and react to sunlight) and its usage can reduce emissions causing air pollution.

Researchers at Western Michigan University have found that soy ink is removed more effectively from newsprint than petroleum ink during de-inking, resulting in less paper fiber damage and a brighter paper. In addition, the waste is not considered hazardous and can be treated more easily, completely and cost-effectively. Residue waste ink is considered a liquid industrial waste that requires proper disposal. Many newspapers and large commercial printers are recycling their ink by mixing black ink with unused color inks. This process reduces waste and results in a more cost-effective, efficient use of ink.

Other benefits of soy ink

Soy ink is available for newspapers, magazines, commercial printing, packaging, business forms and many other uses. Each form of printing requires a different type of ink and manufacturers have made various efforts to meet with the demands of customers. Soy inkt has following benefits:

• Vibrant colors - Soybean oil’s clarity allows pigments to reach their full potential, resulting in deep, rich bright colors. In addition, used in newspaper ink, it shows an excellent outcome of pigments. Soy ink delivers a high quality print when you switch from petroleum-based ink to soy ink, and you may even see an improvement!
• Lower rub-off - Soy inks show a greater rub resistance. This is especially of important for newspaper readers.
• Soy ink is cost effective - The prices of soy ink colors are competitive with conventional ink colors since most of the cost in the colored inks comes from the pigments used and not the vehicle portion of the formulation. Because soy ink provides more intense color, printers may not use as much ink. As a result, more materials can be printed with less ink and thereby reducing their costs.
• Laser proof - This is important when ink needs to be exposed to the heat of a laser printer or copy machine. As the boiling point of soy ink is lower, there is less chance of the ink being transferred to the machine parts instead of the paper.
• Stability - Soy ink maintains its lithographic stability throughout the entire print job, so the press operator makes fewer adjustments during production and rejects fewer copies because of inferior quality. 

 http://www.soya.be/soy-ink-benefits.php

Disadvantages

Unfortunatelly, soy ink is not a perfect solution to the problems associated with the production of ink. For example, it cannot be used in Ballpoint pens and personal printers. One major problem with soy ink is that it takes more time to dry than petroleum-based inks, due to its lack of evaporative solvents in the form of VOCs. This creates challenges for some Printing presses, especially those that use coated papers (such as magazines) instead of porous, uncoated paper (such as newspapers) where the ink can dry via absorption. Current studies into UV-reactive ink curing are being conducted by many ink producers, most prominently the Flint Group. This process dries much faster, is cheaper, uses less energy, and emits no VOCs. This requires a significant equipment change and has not been scaled down to consumer size as of yet, however, so further research is necessary.
There is also the problem that an over-dependency on a single crop introduces the risk of crop disease epidemics, as in the Great Irish Famine.
Since much of the soy produced in the World is of genetically modified cultivars, the increased use of soy exacerbates some concerns with both GMO and modern agriculture.

http://green.wikia.com/wiki/Soy_based_ink

 

http://www.inxinternational.com/us/corp_sustainability.aspx

Flexographic ink

Flexography is a process used in the printing of packing materials (cardboard boxes, corrugated cardboard, paper bags and plastic bags, food packaging, newspapers, catalogues, etc ...) This method of printing continues to grow in popularity due to its low cost and environmentally friendly nature. The most important part of the printing process is the application of the ink.

There are three main types of ink: water based, solvent and UV curable. The printing surface (substrate type) dictates what ink type it is advisable to use.

Vibrant, eco-friendly custom screen printing on lighter color garments

Waterbased positives:
• Eco-friendly
• Very soft prints
• Beautiful colors
• Easy to work with
• Awesome for printing on lighter-color garments

Waterbased negatives:
• Not well suited for darker garments
• Affected by the shirt color, so that printing on something like a purple shirt may change the ink color
• Not ideal for all materials
• Traditional inks are better for very large print runs

Water based screen printing applications
There are two major schools of screen printing ink; plastisol and water based. Plastisol is a PVC based ink and is what the majority of commercial printers use. Water based is, as the name suggests, a water based ink with pigments suspended within it.
Water based inks can be used to print stickers, towels, fabric yards, canvas and paper, as well as apparel such as shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jeans, aprons, jackets, hats and practically any other item as long as it can be put on the press to be screened. Designs can be printed on cotton, polyester, or poly/cotton blends.
Water based screen printing results
Water based prints have many positive qualities. The industry term "hand" refers to how soft a print feels on the decorated item. Water based inks are well known for the minimal or soft hand that they provide. Prints made with water based can be ironed, while plastisol prints cannot be, as the iron's heat plate would melt the PVC in the ink.
The colors in a water based print are often more vibrant than those in a similar plastisol print. When properly cured, a shirt or other item with a water based print will survive countless trips through the washing machine, being very durable, and the ink would most likely outlast the fabric on which it is printed. Because of the lesser hand of water based, a shirt with a very large and solid design printed on the front will feel light and thin, while sometimes large heavy plastisol printed designs are referred to as "bulletproof" because of the thickness of the layers of ink.
Water based ink sits into the fabric of the printed shirt, not on top of the fabric like plastisol printing. This allows skin under the design to breathe better, and can increase the amount of comfort felt while wearing the decorated item.

Water based screen printing and the environment
Even minimal research into the effects of plastic on the environment brings up lists of serious hazards and harmful consequences. Plastic is polluting our oceans, filling our trash dumps, and doing permanant damage to our world, our environment and our future here on Earth. Plastic has countless uses and is a great building and manufacturing material in and of itself, but cannot easily be reused. A plastic soda bottle put on the curb in a recycling bin can never be melted down to be used as another soda bottle.
Plastisol is PVC ink. PVC is polyvinyl chloride, and is a known carcinogen, meaning that it can cause cancer. Plastic's chemicals can leach out of products. As the Green movement furthers, more people will turn away from plastic in every realm possible, and this will, and already does, include their preferrence to what type of ink is used on all the screen printed goods that they purchase and wear.
Plastisol is not drain safe. Printers must use other harmful chemicals to break down the plastisol ink from their screens and equipment. Special filters must be installed on drains to catch the PVC particles. Most do take care to not allow any to go down the drain, but many do not.
Among commercial printers, plastisol is popular because it's simple, inexpensive, and well suited to mass production because the ink will not dry and clog screens. In fact, plastisol really can never dry, it stays in a semi-liquid state until a curing temperature is reached, at which point it bonds to make a solid film. To cure water based ink, the item is heated to the proper temperature at which the water in the ink is evaporated, leaving just the pigments.

Water based ink is definitely more environmentally friendly. After a run of prints, screens can be cleaned with just water, and it can go down the drain, being no more harmful than mild household cleaning products. Water based inks are simply not toxic, do not contain lead or any heavy metals, nor do they contain any ozone-depleting chemicals (CFC's, HCFC's, etc) or volatile solvents.

Water based screen printing and the future

Luckily, the Green movement is having a serious impact on consumers' choices. People are wearing organic clothing, buying hybrid cars, and eating non-GMO food products. Plastisol may be the default choice for most professional screen printers, but water based does have a foothold in the industry, and its popularity will continue to grow, due to increasing demand from the level of the consumer and enlightened persons in charge of clothing lines.

Another reason why water based inks aren't going to go away is because of the advancements being made in the industry. Companies such as Matsui and Permaset are making serious advances in ink technologies, giving their water based ink lines qualities that only plastisols had previously, such as stretchability and durability to not crack, even with multiple layers, when cured properly. As development continues, water based ink will continue to obtain plastisol qualities, while remaining the best choice for anyone environmentally concerned.

http://waterbasedscreenprinting.com/waterbased_screen_printing.html

 http://files.rolanddg.be/Website/Files/specialist_printing_092010.pdf