The immense popularity of digitization has not weakened the demand for printing services – especially among ecommerce businesses and start-ups. Increase in retail sales has triggered the demand for printed products such as labels, bags, direct mail, and catalogs. Procurement specialists believe that in mature markets like the US, Germany, and the UK, print services are used to selectively target repetitive customers who possess high disposable incomes. At the same time, growing environmental concerns and regulations have forced suppliers to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices.
The printing industry and key environmental issues
Air pollution, handling and disposing of hazardous materials, energy misuse, and waste management are some of the major environmental issues for suppliers. Print operations involve the usage and disposal of hazardous materials such as toluene, xylene, methanol, and hexane. These hazardous materials and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) cause air pollution. Also, the energy used for printing process and transport contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change. Lastly, there are certain occupational health and safety issues that need to be addressed by suppliers. Due to these grave environmental issues, several countries have established stringent regulations for the printing industry.
Sustainability practices followed by suppliers
Stringent government regulations like the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act (Amended 1990), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (Amended 1984) and OSHA make it mandatory for suppliers to comply with the environmental regulations. To comply with the regulations and survive competition, a number of suppliers have adopted strategic sustainability practices. Some of the major sustainability practices as identified by procurement specialists are:
- Use of vegetable-based inks
Traditional inks used for printing are loaded with VOCs, which cause air pollution. Suppliers like Joseph Merritt & Co. are now switching to inks derived from materials like soya to address the negative environmental effects of VOCs present in traditional inks.
- Energy efficiency
High emissions of GHGs have forced suppliers to adopt energy efficient modes of production. So, not only are more organizations switching to LED lights, but there have also been increased investments in energy-efficient equipment. Apart from this, oxidizers are being regularly used to control the emissions generated during the printing operations.
- Responsible paper sourcing
Green paper is today’s biggest trend. Several suppliers are switching to the use of recycled and forest management-certified paper. Responsible paper sourcing makes it a point that deforestation is kept in check and the eco-friendly use of paper is promoted. For instance, RR Donnelley has adopted a responsible paper sourcing strategy and claims that around 75% of paper used by it is eco-friendly.
- Waste management
Waste disposal and waste management are two major issues for suppliers of print services. Many suppliers are making use of computer-to-plate technology to reduce the use of resources and improve upon waste handling and disposal. Other operations that are being undertaken for better management of waste are:
- Recycling of oil, aluminum printing plates, negatives, and carbon interleaves
- Returning batteries to manufacturers for recycling
- Remixing ink with black ink and reprocessing it into new ink
Suppliers now resort to reduced use of hazardous substances in the printing process. This automatically reduces the amount of hazardous waste thaat needs to be disposed and eases the waste management process.
For a detailed understanding on the global print services market:
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