By Jeff Sybil
Guest Columnist
No place in the U.S. seems more interested in environmentally friendly products than the Northwest. Look around at the local companies that have made their brands a household name by promoting and supporting the environment right here in our backyard. The list is notable, including heavyweights like REI, Nike, Weyerhaeuser, and Starbucks.
Having been in the digital printing industry for more than a decade, I have often wondered why printing materials cannot be manufactured and designed to be recycled or, at the very least, be biodegradable when placed in our nation’s burgeoning landfills. Certainly the design community has wanted this for many years. I have fielded numerous calls over the years from architects and designers requesting non-PVC based printing products. I am confident that research and development departments at the manufacturer level have been working diligently to produce these products as a means to boost their company’s market share in the print industry and be first to market with these types of products.
The reality is there are now substrates on the market that are less toxic and more recyclable, able to be placed in our landfills safely. The age of "green" printing has arrives to a degree. These products are just starting to find their way into the printing world and are, by no means, the norm. In the large format printing industry, 3M Corporation has introduced the first non-PVC adhesive-backed vinyl for digital printing. In the substrates arena, recycled tag board is now a great point-of-purchase material for the retail industry. Cotton-based fabrics are being printed more and more, eliminating the man-made fibers and PVC-based banner materials so prevalent in the past. In the commercial printing realm, the implementation of dye-based inks and recycled paper is more common and available everyday. Material manufacturers are listening and stepping up.
Just as important as materials are the inks used. Solvent ink-based printing is an industry standard. Photo chemicals once used all over the world for making images have given way to new standards that reduce the harsh chemicals used in the past. The ink manufacturers have supplied UV inks for 20 years to the screen-print industry. Now digital printing technology allows these inks to be used to create stunning, long-term graphics that will last. This breakthrough provides environmentally-conscious companies with signs, banners, retail point-of-purchase, and numerous other printed marketing collateral on true environmentally-friendly products.
I believe this wave of green will continue and thrive as long as there are those that care about the environment and the dwindling natural resources around us. I am excited to share these solutions with our clients. It is the right thing to do and, in many cases, is a more affordable alternative to the old methods of printing with caustic substances. We hope that one day everything printed will be reusable and friendlier to the environment we live in.
Jeff Sybil is the sales and marketing manager for Image Mill, Inc. in Redmond, Washington. Image Mill is a large-format printing company that serves the retail, corporate, tradeshow, and event industries. Visit www.imagemill.com.
