TEWKSBURY, MA – February 8, 2008 -- ECRM today released a new campaign to elevate awareness of the need for graphic arts professionals to conserve energy. The campaign strives to make commercial printers, newspaper publishers, and trade service providers more aware of the environmental and economical benefits of energy-conserving solutions and applications in prepress processes. The campaign is being kicked off by the branding of each MAKO CTP as "An ECOnomic Solution." Each violet MAKO CTP sold by ECRM will be labeled with a green sticker promoting the "Energy Wise" message. For more information, go to www.ecrm.com.  
 

ECRM Platesetters Conserve Energy and Costs
 
For years, ECRM has engineered their violet CTP platesetters to be both economical and energy-efficient. For example, the MAKO CTP platesetters are designed to draw as little energy as it takes to light three 100-watt light bulbs. For some commercial customers, the cost saving in using an ECRM platesetter (versus an industry competitor) can add up to as much as $1000+ dollars per year. In an internal research study comparing various CTP offerings (based on product rating label, using lowest rated voltage and rated current), the MAKO platesetters were as much as 19 times more energy-efficient than some popular thermal CTP solutions.
 
Sustainability Analyst's Input
 
"There is growing awareness that climate change, energy security and sustainability are critical issues that must be addressed by business, government and consumers," notes Don Carli, Senior Research Fellow with The Institute for Sustainable Communication. "Toward that end, conservation measures large and small all contribute to the changes required in the ways we employ energy and materials in graphic communication supply chains.
 
"The Institute for Sustainable Communication is encouraged by the growing interest of advertisers, publishers, government agencies, educators, industry associations and manufacturers in working together toward constructive solutions that will ensure the sustainability of print and digital media. Energy efficient prepress systems, papermaking, ink, solvents, adhesives, printing systems, logistics, IT, building systems and renewable energy choices will each play important roles in the evolution of sustainable communication supply chains."
 
Note: Don Carli is also Conference Chair of SustainCommWorld "The Green Media Show" (www.sustaincommworld.com) being held Oct 1-2, 2008 in Boston, MA.
 
Platesetter Design Equates to Energy and Dollar Benefits
 
"The low-energy draw of ECRM platesetters can be attributed to its basic design," notes ECRM product engineering manager Dave Connor. "Using flatbed, capstan-drive, and violet-imaging technologies are a major advantage compared to thermal drumsetters. Drumsetters with internal drum designs are inherently energy inefficient as each requires the drum to spin up [and down] to a proper revolution speed for the imaging and removal of each new plate. And the power to operate a thermal diode, on average, draws more than five times more energy than a standard violet diode (2.5 watts for thermal diodes to 60 milliwatts for violet diodes). In addition, thermal imaging requires the use of multiple diodes to generate sufficient energy to image thermal plate emulsions. ECRM uses single violet diode imaging technology. Avoiding multiple diodes translates to a significant economy in energy consumption."