Welcome!

ImageWelcome to Verdigris. This site provides information about environmental initiatives for the international printing community. It has a range of articles and reference links for printers, publishers, technology providers and anyone else who’s interested.

Articles cover all sorts of topics from explaining the basics of carbon footprinting for printers, to describing how individual printing companies are doing their bit to minimise their impact on the envrionment. This is an educational site that includes reference material and links to industry associations and environmental organisations around the world.

Understanding sustainability reporting

Laurel-2018.jpgThe Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner

Sustainability reporting is a big deal for brands who buy a lot of print, especially those serving consumers. Those brands need a lot of packaging for their goods, much of it plastic and too little that is recyclable, so anything positive they can shout about is a plus.

The New Xeikon CX500t

medium_laurel2015.jpgThe Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner

Xeikon has recently introduced a new model of its CX500, the CX500t, press for the flexible packaging market. The t stands for Titon, a new dry toner, developed in part in response to Xeikon’s customers’ sustainability expectations. For Xeikon sustainability has long been “at the core strategically and operationally” for the business. For instance the company’s factory in Lier uses 100% green energy and dry toner printing technology is inherently sustainable. Dry toner prints are easily deinked for recycling, and Titon toner is food compliant for both direct and indirect packaging. The new CX500t is a member of the Cheetah 2.0 family and Titon toner can take temperatures of up to 220-260ºC.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs)

medium_2015_Laurel B.jpgThe Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner

We’re hearing more and more about the UNSDGs. ISO makes compliance with at least one of them mandatory in new document development. Large corporates such as Fujifilm and HP make sure to mention them in their sustainability communications. Marketing managers across the industry name check UNSDGs, but there is more to these commitments than soundbites. The objectives of the UNSDGs will certainly make the world a better place for most of the people on the planet as well as for the skies, lands and seas. But getting businesses to be really behind the goals, putting together cohesive plans and targets, is another matter.

Big brands mandating sustainability

Laurel-2018.jpgThe Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner

We are finally starting to see big name brands taking a real stand on sustainability for printed products, specifically for packaging. There has been plenty of greenwashing over the years but rather less progress when it comes to supplier obligations, and especially for print service providers (PSP). For printers this has meant that they could make their own choices to offer sustainability related services or not. The time may have come to change that approach.

Sustainability through automation

medium_laurel2015.jpgThe Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner

Kodak recently announced installation of the world’s biggest computer-to-plate system. It’s at WKS Group’s web offset printing site in Essen, Germany and counts as the world’s biggest, because the Magnus Q4800 imagesetter is nearly 19 meters long. Four pallet loading systems each with plates of a different format complete the set up. So big, very, very big.

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