poniedziałek, 15 lutego 2016

Implementing Digital Printing That Is Eco Friendly

By Angela Thomas


There have been sustained efforts geared towards adopting more environmental friendly industrial solutions all over the world. The printing industry is one of those affected. Printing firms are now moving towards digital printing that is eco friendly and abandoning decade old practices which have been shown to have a negative impact on the environment. We will explore some of the ways in which you can adopt to this new order of things in this industry.

One of the changes which are being implemented involve the types of ink used. The conventional ink is known to release volatile organic compounds, VOCs into the environment. When these compounds interact with nitrogen oxide in the presence of sunlight a layer of ozone is formed within lower atmospheric zones. This ozone layer (unlike the protective layer higher up in the atmosphere) attracts dust particles and forms smog.

Recycled paper is a product which is increasingly being accepted as an alternative to fiber paper by many printing plants as well as customers. One of the benefits of using recycled paper is the fact that it requires less water to process compared to virgin paper. It also has less effluent. More importantly, however, recycled paper reduces the rate of deforestation and helps conserve the environment. New methods which do not use chlorine for bleaching now exist.

There are a number of other raw materials which can be recycled or reused. One of the inputs which may be recycled easily is water. In a firm which is operating efficiently, up to 65% of water can be recycled. This is likely to translate into huge savings as relate to operational costs. Other materials can also be recycled to various extents. Such may include, waste paper, ink and aluminum plates.

Energy conservation should be a priority. Efforts should be made to cut down on the use of fossil fuels as much as possible and use renewable sources of energy instead. If you are to buy new equipment, ensure it is more efficient with faster running speed which ensures there is more output per kilowatt of electricity used. Regular servicing ensures that your printers remain efficient and use less energy, ink and water.

The amount of paper used for proofs should be reduced as much as possible or eliminated from the process entirely. The use of emails is one of the ways through which this can be made possible easily. Not only does this practice reduce paper requirements within a firm but also helps customers to keep track of their work as it goes through the various stage of printing.

With regard to digital printing involving fabrics, one of the areas in which improvements can be made is in the pretreatment process. Traditionally, this stage has involved the use of chemicals which contain high levels of urea. When the fabrics are steamed, carbon dioxide, a well-known greenhouse gas is released into the environment. An alternative to this method is to use a special foam which achieves which is less harmful to the environment.

There is no doubt that the possibilities in environmental conservation are limitless. It is true that some changes are a bit expensive to implement but the returns are tremendous both to individual businesses and the environment. There should be increased usage of modern technology which helps to increase efficiency and reduce wastage.




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