WhatTheyThink’s Going Green has joined forces with Two Sides to help address the “perceptions” that paper destroys forests,
WhatTheyThink’s Going Green has joined forces with Two Sides to help address the “perceptions” that paper destroys forests, that electronic media are “greener” than print and paper, and that recycling is the solution to all environmental ills.
This week’s Two Sides Fast Fact is not numerical, and in fact is presented as a courtesy to the Going Greenosphere. Via Two Sides, the Printers’ National Environmental Assistance Center (PNEAC) offers a
“Checklist to Help Printers Reduce and Prevent Pollution.”
Why Should You Care?
Reducing pollutants in one’s plant is, of course, good for the environment, and for workers health, but it also helps go a long way toward showing and demonstrating that print is not a toxic and destructive process, but can be “greener” than electronic media. Oh, and it can also help reduce costs. The checklist linked to contains “a menu of practical actions a printing company can take to reduce wastes and emissions. These actions will help a company improve its environmental compliance, while also reducing its costs and liabilities from wastes.” It’s a comprehensive list of items, organized by shop function and by printing process (lithography, flexography, screen printing, digital and gravure). The checklist also indicates the difficulty and degree of cost associated with each item. It’s a terrific way of getting ideas on where to begin—or continue—the move toward sustainable print production.
For more Two Sides facts see http://www.twosides.us/mythsandfacts.
About Richard Romano
Richard Romano is Managing Editor of WhatTheyThink. He curates the Wide Format section on WhatTheyThink.com. He has been writing about the graphic communications industry for more than 25 years. He is the author or coauthor of more than half a dozen books on printing technology and business. His most recent book is “Beyond Paper: An Interactive Guide to Wide-Format and Specialty Printing.