Why print? A few words from Melissa Stevens, Mohawk Fine Papers
Paper has an a high intangible value; when you get a letter or a card in the mail, it is the thing you hold on to, you hold it in your hand. An email is is not the same. Putting something on paper gives the message value, it's very different.
It's the same if someone has taken the time to put together a book that is beautiful, that contains memories; it's in a very different category. You hold it, you cherish it.
I've been collecting my 6-year old's journals and drawings, comparing the development. Spreading them out on the table, looking at them side by side is a very unique form of communication,
Are we getting too focused on paper? There is still a footprint to electronic media, and paper is sustainable, it regrows. The question really is: Which is the more appropriate form for what you want to do?
There is economic value to paper, social value, cultural value. And yet you can create a book, print it
and put it on a flash drive. Print a beautiful annual report but put the financials online or on a flash drive.
Which is the more appropriate form? The two worlds can exist.
Melissa Stevens is National Business Development Manager with Mohawk Fine Papers.
Waste Management and Recycled Content – Appleton Coated
Phil Cavalier, VP of Marketing for
Appleton Coated, Kimberly WI, took a little time to answer a few questions about her company's waste management programs and her company's use of recycled post consumer waste content in coated papers.
WTT: You've had several projects in the works to reduce the amount of waste you send to landfills. Please update us on how you are handling sludge and boiler ash, solids removed from waste water, and other materials that had been landfilled in the past.
PC: The sludge and boiler ash is compressed and used as fuel. It has also been used for road construction, to fill an old quarry, and for the foundations of buildings. Appleton Coated has invested capital to keep the ash clean and separated so it can be sold in large quantities.
Waste removal is costly and in the long run, we don't want to keep filling the landfills. Because coatings have the potential to create waste that cannot be recycled, any coatings lost in the water creates waste. Coating in the water is collected and has to be landfilled; our work is preventative, to keep it out of the water.
The first Six Sigma project we worked on was to reduce the coating loss. Last year we had a 25% reduction in coating loss, better than the year before, and we continue to work to reduce the loss.
WTT: In your sustainability report you talk about energy use reduction and “fossil-fuel free” energy. How are you doing on your goal to reduce your energy usage per paper machine ton produced?
PC: We already have fossil-fuel free alternatives with biomass (sludge and ash) and wood waste – the parts of the tree that are non-merchantable for other purposes. We also buy green power. We originally bought green power credits for our office and in-house print shop, we now offer two paper grades made with energy credits. Our green power usage has grown until now we are members of the EPA Green Power Partnership.
In central Wisconsin there are a lot of wind collectors and generators. We buy green credits from our local power company; Appleton Coated was their first commercial client. We have a turbine on site for the power company – it belongs to them - and we use the resulting steam for paper manufacture.
WTT: Currently the maximum recycled post consumer waste (PCW) listed on your website is 30%. Are you considering/will you make paper with higher PCW content available?
PC: We can manufacture paper with up to 50% PCW. For coated paper, that's very high content level. Appleton Coated is the only large mill that buys fiber on the open market rather than making their own pulp, so the company can justify buying PCW as well as virgin pulp.
Recycled PCW pulp costs more than virgin pulp right now, however we have had customers testing higher content. Some of our larger customers – especially those in fashion – are really concerned about the quality of reproduction and they're afraid of higher recycled content.
SVEC Conway Hits a Double
SVEC Conway, a $4+ million family printer in Silver Springs MD, is FSC and SFI Chain of Custody certified, Green-E certified, uses 100% wind power and is implementing a number of other green initiatives. So what comes next? This week it's an
Environmental Excellence Award, presented on Friday, 9/11, and a
Gold Ink Award, to be presented on Monday, 9/14.
Sheila Firestein, co-owner of SVEC Conway, believes that going forward the most important thing she and her team can do is educate their clients. Not just by pushing FSC/SFI certified or recycled paper, but by keeping environmentally friendly options in front of them and teaching them how to print better.
Rather than recycle makeready sheets, SVEC Conway prints on the back for posters, uses the sheets for various kinds of wraps, and even makes notepads for clients that are printed with bits of advice and suggestions for using paper more carefully.
Getting involved with the client earlier in the process, at the concept stage, means that Sheila can save her clients money and help them get a better finished piece. “At that point you can think about what it is you are using the printed piece for,” says Sheila. “I love educating my customers, in helping them use paper more efficiently. I love recycled paper, but it's not just about that. It's about printing better. There is a place where some content can and should go online, but print can send them there.”
SVEC Conway
Revenues: $4+ million
Employees: 20
Family owned
Sheetfed small commercial printer
Provides mailing and fulfillment services
Location: Silver Springs MD
INX Re-engineers the Bottle
INX International's Megaink BioMG inkjet inks work like true solvent inks. While BioMG inks still release a small amount of VOCs, there are no hazardous or toxic air pollutants. The BioMG inks contain between 15% and 60% bio-derived renewable content depending on the color and formulation, as certified by NAPIM.
What does it take to make a “packaging breakthrough?” According to Ken Kisner, a little reverse engineering! By starting with the idea that they wanted to maximize a pallet of toner bottles – in fact, a stack of
two pallets of toner bottles - INX engineers cut costs throughout the supply chain.
Redesigned, recyclable polyethylene bottles that used to hold 4 liters of toner now hold 5 liters and twice as many can be loaded on a pallet. The total amount of plastic has been reduced by 20%, carton materials have been reduced by 30%, and shipping costs have been cut nearly in half. It is now possible to ship twice the amount in the same space. The newly designed packaging allows for truck space to be optimized both for cube and for weight.