LEAN GREEN PRINTING

LEAN GREEN PRINTING

INTRODUCTION

Introduction
The environmental pressures on the print supply chain will continue and pressures increase, with
print users keen to demonstrate their environmental credentials by using paper and board from
independently verified sustainable sources and certified print suppliers.
In future printers will develop some form of quantitative measurements to determine the carbon
footprint 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 the
atmosphere in carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests or soils) through physical
or biological processes, such as photosynthesis.
Chain of Custody (COC): schemes and certifications are third party audit and
investigation processes examining each step of a product’s supply chain. These
begin at the forest and are carried out by established forest certification
programmes to ensure that products carrying their label include the type of
fibre claimed and also meet their programme’s standards.
CTP (Computer to Plate): A type of printing prepress process in which a digital
image is transmitted directly from a computer to a plate used on a press. The
CTP process eliminates the need for producing film (or negatives), as well as
stripping and shooting plates. CTP technology serves to effectively reduce costs
and increase productivity, with proponents of CTP also claiming that it offers
better consistency and higher quality because of the elimination of the human
error risk, since the file is transmitted digitally to the plate material.
De-inking: the process of removing printing ink from waste paper in order to
recycle waste paper. The process consists of passing pulped waste paper
through a series of punched screens, slot screens, and centrifugal purifiers to
mechanically separate all non-paper components such as staples and thick
adhesive layers.

Market Background: Definitions & Key Terms
Landfill: A large, outdoor site where solid waste is disposed off, usually by
burying.
MIS (Management Information System): a subset of the overall internal
controls of a business covering the application of people, documents,
technologies, and procedures by management accountants solve business
problems such as costing for a product, service or a business-wide strategy.
Management information systems are used to analyze other information
systems applied in an organization’s operational activities, thereby being
distinct from regular information systems .
Polylactic Acid (PLA): a biodegradable, thermoplastic, aliphatic polyester
derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the U.S.) or
sugarcanes (rest of world). Even though PLA has been known for more than a
century, commercial interest in it has grown only recently because of its
biodegradability.
Recycling: the process by which materials are collected and used as raw
materials for new products.
VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds): compounds that have a high vapor
pressure and low water solubility. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals that
are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, and
refrigerants.

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 use
post-consumer waste.
• Paper and board will increasingly be post-consumer recycled, or will be from certified forestry
sources, with chain of custody such as FSC, PEFC or SFI a minimum for the majority of printed
products.

Environment friendly printing
• Lesser set-up and running waste will be required, with printers ordering exact quantities and not
accepting the current trade tolerances.
• Printers will use more ‘lean’ manufacturing and administration processes with waste reduction a key
component.
• Companies will also operate a formal, accredited environmental management system developing
from ISO 14001, with significant measures reported as accounts.
• The carbon footprint measures will be applied and companies will work actively to reduce their
impact. New technology will also be widely applied.
• New management information systems (MIS) tools will eliminate internal waste and errors; they will
continually monitor production inputs and outputs, recording the carbon footprint impact and
providing early warnings that will highlight earlier management action.
• Premises will employ more energy-efficient features throughout, to improve environmental
performance and also to reduce costs.
• Centralised compressors and pumps can offer savings over individual equipment on presses and
equipment.
• New lighting and heating systems will be used in factories and offices; waste heat from presses and
driers will be utilised, and there will be sustainable energy generation such as solar panels and wind
turbines 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 their
presses, and this will also reduce energy consumption.
• Machines will contain sensors and links back to the supplier, who can then monitor and advise on
preventative maintenance so as to ensure optimal performance.
• Print companies are ordering consumables in returnable, re-usable containers. All packaging
materials, including ink containers, will be recycled, with larger printers buying ink and coatings in
high-volume refillable containers or refillable cartridge dispensers.
• More plates are being exposed in CTP (Computer to Plate) systems with no chemistry or processing
required.
• 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 heat
afterburners and factories.
• All solid, liquid and atmospheric emissions will be recorded and sent to suitable waste treatment
handlers.
• There will be significant strides made in bindery and finishing technology to minimise set-up and
process waste, particularly for very short digital runs, where new techniques such as laser cutting and
scoring 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 packaging
waste. 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 are
taking concrete action rather than pretending to do so.
• Systems such as ISO 14000, FSC, PEFC, SFI, PAS 2050 (carbon footprint), Acorn BS8555, Green
Dragon, or the EMAS Eco-Management and Audit Scheme will be used.
• These above systems will be developed into accredited carbon footprint methods and printers will
provide the results on a project by project basis to customers and for company performances over a
period.
• Currently there are several embryonic carbon footprint calculators available but these provide very
different results and have little scientific credibility. The Carbon Trust offers a broad outline at
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/solutions/CarbonFootprinting/FootprintCalculators.htm
• Companies can log in and provide a variety of input to work out their impact, alongwith receiving
advice and consultation on the steps necessary to minimise their environmental impact. These will
develop 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 of
electronic systems – email and websites – have their own environmental impacts, with significant
power use (US power consumption in the data server industry is at par with the energy consumption
of 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 be
used by the design department to build a specification to minimise the environmental impact, for
example the use of varnish lamination, or the effect of a 115gsm stock against 130gsm, taking into
account the cost of postage.
• The choice of alternative materials and production methods will have different environmental
impacts, and these will be provided with the estimate and will be a factor in determining where jobs
are placed.
• Packaging suppliers and retailers will face different kinds of pressure to minimise excessive
packaging. 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 buyers
ordering appropriate quantities of product.
• Book and magazine publishers will move away from sale or return models, with retailers providing
better demand profiling and ordering smaller quantities.
• This will reduce the quantities of unsold print products that go for re-pulping unread. For printers, it
will 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 Office
Forum (TSOF)’ checklist, that states: recycled paper should include as high a proportion of postconsumer
waste fibre as possible.
• Recycling one tonne of newsprint saves about one tonne of wood, while a tonne of fine paper saves
a little more than two tonnes of wood. Most of the wood used for paper and board (certainly in
developed markets) comes from farmed tree sources with fast growing trees being replanted to
replace the harvested ones.
• The main benefit for recycling is to reduce the landfill burden. As paper decomposes, it releases
methane 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 a
64% reduction.
• Virgin pulp making burns waste bark and chemicals from the trees, while recycling uses energy from
the 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, although
improved techniques reduce this byproduct.
• In 2008, scientists developed a method of removing one of the most difficult contaminants, ink, with
an 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 and
digital 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 been
developing a Digital Print De-Inking Alliance.
• This above alliance will conduct research to assess digital print compatibility with de-inking and
paper recycling processes worldwide, focusing on printer, paper and chemical additive solutions, and
their various combinations, with the aim of promoting best practice in recycling standards across the
industry. 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 best
recycling processes to use.
• In conventional newspaper printing, drying is accomplished by absorption of the ink oils into the
paper structure.
• The oils in offset news inks never totally dry. In newspaper flexo, the water-based inks dry and form
a 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 the
brightness may be lower.
• The problem with de-inking water-based ink on uncoated paper has drawn attention to publication
printers in general, who are continuing to work towards the use of water-based ink in gravure
publications.
• 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 paper
and board has led to the concept of independent assessment, with formal chain of custody schemes
obtaining wide support from the industry, government and environmental groups.
‣ The method favoured is an independent endorsement of the sourcing of paper, using a
documented chain of custody from forest to pulpmill to papermill to merchant to printer/converter to
retailer to consumer.
‣ At each stage of the chain, the body is identified and records the source and destination of the
product, using an identification mark on the output that is recorded by the next converter. This allows
each 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 you
become 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 promotes
sustainably managed forests through independent third-party certification.
• The PEFC provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are
promoting 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 date
have been through a rigorous assessment process, involving public consultation and the use of
independent assessors to provide the assessments on which mutual recognition decisions are taken
by the membership.
• These 25 systems account for more than 200 million hectares of certified forests, producing millions
of 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 working
towards mutual recognition under the PEFC processes.
• PEFC-recognised forest certification denotes sustainable forest management and consumption of
wood 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, that
maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and potential to fulfil, now
and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national and global
levels, and does not cause damage to other ecosystems.
• The PEFC logo should have the code of the mill/merchant/printer/converter included, so allowing a
trace to be made if necessary.
• To achieve accreditation, the company must prove that it operates a robust system to ensure that
there is no chance of mixing raw materials, and that all stock is accurately monitored.

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes
The PEFC Logo
The SFI Logo
The FSC Logo
Source: PEFC
Source: SFI
Source: FSC
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 forest
management, 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 global
marketplace, delivering a steady supply of third-party certified wood from well-managed forests.

Paper Chain of Custody Schemes
SFI cont’d:
• SFI forest certification promotes responsible forestry practices. To be certified, forest operations
across 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 from
certified 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 and
responsible sources, whether the forests are certified or not.
• In 2005, the SFI programme was endorsed by PEFC after a detailed examination by a PEFC-approved
assessor – from its development to its forestry content, chain of custody certification and
accreditation policies. This endorsement adds international value to SFI’s position as a highly
respected, third-party certification program in North America.
FSC – Forestry Stewardship Council
• The Forestry Stewardship Council is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation
established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.
• The FSC provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companies
and 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 should
not be managed.
• When a forester decides to become FSC-certified, he or she will make changes to comply with the
relevant FSC requirements. Thus, the FSC has a direct and permanent positive impact on the world’s
forests 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 include
managerial 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 or
sacred 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 forest
workers 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 the
ecological 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 and
social 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 reduce
the 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.
Table: Characteristics of oils in sheet-fed offset printing inks
Categories Petroleum Distillate Vegetable Oil
Source
Hydrocarbons from coal
and crude oil
Mixed fatty acid glycerides from plants
and trees
Typical Examples
Distillate with boiling
range 260–290°C
Linseed, soya, tall, rapeseed, tung,
coconut and castor oils
Health & Safety Non-hazardous Non-hazardous
Environmentally Sustainable
Resource
Classified as VOC in Ink &
Drying
No
No
Yes
No

Printing Inks
Table: Characteristics of oils in sheet-fed offset printing inks cont’d:
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
Source: Pira International Ltd
Sustainability and Green Alternatives for the future
• Sustainable and green options will be more in demand in the next 10 years. Social responsibility
calls 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 growing
in importance. Other materials can also be sourced from sustainable resources.

Printing Inks
• In some regions, the use of vegetable oils to replace petroleum distillates is being actively promoted
both 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 on
their relative merits and concerns about potential deforestation as a by-product of growing crops for
oil 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 for
decades.
• 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 an
environmentally friendly option for the printer when using these products in conjunction with lowalcohol
founts and low-VOC washes. Sun Chemical,for example, has launched what it claims to be the
first 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 industry
bodies help to reduce and outlaw potentially harmful materials, promoting alternatives to volatile
organic 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 to
provide a safer, healthier world and it will involve every chemical marketed in an EU country being
registered for intended use.
• The use of difficult-to-recycle materials will be largely eliminated, with UV varnish and OPP
laminates used sparingly with water-based coatings more prevalent along with biodegradable
laminates.
• Flexo and gravure will largely eliminate the use of aromatic solvents, especially in developed
markets.
• Inkjet inks will also be dominated by UV and aqueous formulations, with eco solvent grades
replacing 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, prolongs
shelf-life, enables easy use, informs the consumer and helps to promote goods in a competitive
marketplace.
• 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 cannot
be opened without showing evidence of tampering).
• The popularly presented image of packaging often fails to recognise the contribution that it makes to
modern lifestyle and exaggerates its environmental impact.
• Attention is usually focused on the waste generated by used sales packaging .This ignores the fact
that 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. It
promotes not the removal, but the use of lower impact packaging.

About Pira International
• Leading international strategy and technical consultants
• Track record in delivering value to clients for over 75 years
• 170 staff-including global network of consultants and researchers
• Off-the-shelf market reports, multi-clients, special interest groups and
consultancy
• For more information please contact:
Stephen Hill on +44 (0) 1372 802 025
(stephen.hill@pira-international.com)