ORLANDO, FL – Southern Lithoplate (SLP), a presenting member on the Plate Technology Panel of the ING (International Newspaper Group) 2016 Annual Conference, September 23-24, introduced a white paper highlighting its green technology collaboration with California Newspaper Partnership/Digital First Media (DFM).

The white paper was part of a presentation by Steve Mattingly, SLP’s senior vice president, exploring the technology behind the company’s Liberty NXP no-process printing plate. In the paper, DFM's journey from old school to sustainable operations, which includes adoption and integration of Liberty NXP plates, is shared by 40-year industry veteran, Joe Boessenecker, Senior Vice President of Operations for DFM.

"Clean technology contributes to long-term viability. Ten of our 14 printing sites are now using SLP products." DFM leads by example when it comes to finding the right tactical mix of green technology and profitable business. “We’re the second biggest news publisher in the U.S. and the largest in California,” Boessenecker said.

He explained that DFM's sites started to convert from film and related chemistry some nine years ago in order to purge environmental risks from those materials. "We made a fast track of it. We moved completely out of film five years ago in our plants, and adopted CTP technology," he said. 

SLP's expertise in digital plate solutions made it an excellent choice for DFM that includes other major industry brands in its company tool belt. SLP’s Liberty NXP is a cost effective no-process printing plate that delivers consistently high print quality, saves time and energy, and has a low environmental impact.

Mattingly stressed that because the Liberty NXP process is actually a mechanical process harnessing the tack of the ink to remove the coating from the non-image areas during initial makeready, the coating is transferred to the blanket cylinder and then carried out on the newsprint waste stream. “ It’s fast and very effective and environmentally responsible,” he said. 

Boessenecker expanded on the benefits:  “We have completely eliminated downstream effluent back into water sources in our communities’ sanitation systems. No more wash water or wastewater. We’ve taken the maintenance responsibility out of the process. We have totally integrated plate making with the process, and eliminated waste completely. And that includes the elimination of slip sheets thanks to SLP’s chemical-free plate that doesn’t require them.

“Working with SLP and our other partners has significantly reduced maintenance efforts and costs in our operation. At the same time it has also reduced our capital expenditure burden because we no longer have to replace that equipment when it reaches the end of its usable lifespan,” he said.

The white paper: Digital First Media Expand its Environmental Friendly Focus by Adopting No-Process Plates, is available for download at SLP.com.