Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is adding the Saphira Eco line to its portfolio of high-quality consumables. These new products have been tested extensively to ensure their environmental compatibility. The range, which Heidelberg will continue to expand, covers the entire value added chain from prepress and press to postpress. It also meets the strictest industry standards and statutory requirements, even surpassing them in some cases. The first Saphira Eco products will include CtP plates, inks, coatings, adhesives, and washup and dampening solutions.

Saphira Eco consumables enable print shops to meet the requirements of international and regional environmental certification programs such as Nordic Swan, the European EcoLabel, and the Austrian environmental label.

Saphira Eco products conserve resources, enable stable production, and ensure fewer emissions such as volatile organic compounds and ammonia.

Strictest criteria for verifying the environmental compatibility of consumables in the print media industry

To ensure transparent and fact-based labeling of particularly eco-friendly consumables, Heidelberg has committed itself to meeting a catalog of criteria geared toward the principles of "substitution", "reduction", and "offsetting". The criteria, which are being continuously monitored and developed, can be accessed online at www.heidelberg.com/saphira-eco. Although various environmental labels already exist in the print media industry, none of these take into account all the environmental criteria relevant for consumables. From these labels, Heidelberg has adopted the criteria that are key for consumables and used the strictest standards to do so. The result is the Saphira Eco product line, which is based on the most comprehensive and toughest criteria for consumables in the print media industry.

Systematic environmental protection - substitution, reduction, and offsetting
The extensive product line of Saphira Eco consumables is based on three key principles:

- Substitution: Wherever possible, mineral and synthetic components are replaced with renewable resources in Saphira Eco consumables.

- Reduction: The possible environmental impact of components in consumables that cannot yet be replaced is dramatically reduced thanks to the introduction of strict limits.

- Offsetting: Users of consumables can offset their CO2 footprint by purchasing emissions certificates.

"Using consumables has a not insignificant impact on a print shop's environmental performance over a press's entire lifespan. With the Saphira Eco line, Heidelberg is therefore addressing customers who place great importance on their company's environmental performance and don't wish to make any compromises on quality when using eco-friendly consumables. Heidelberg is thus once again underlining the fact that harmonizing economy and ecology is not a contradiction in terms," says Marcel Kiessling, Member of the Management Board at Heidelberg responsible for Heidelberg Services.

The products will be available worldwide from the middle of 2011. Users can purchase these directly from Heidelberg agencies / the Online Shop of the respective national organizations.