Articles

The following articles have been produced by the Verdigris Project. This material has been distributed to the Verdigris Publishing Network for use in their magazines and on their websites. This network includes approximately 30 titles throughout the world from Finland to Australia. If you would like to join the Verdigris Publishing Network (it’s free), please contact Laurel by going here and selecting "Verdigris Information".

Paper Tigers Hear Them Roar

ImageCan it really be true, as so many tree huggers believe, that pulp and paper production are major contributors to global warming?

At a UN conference in 1987, sustainability was defined as developments that “meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. This roughly means that we should look after the planet for our children, so in the context of media, is paper-based print really so terrible? There is so much misinformation buzzing around the wires that we thought it might be useful to find out just what the paper industry is doing to protect one of the planet’s most marvellous resources.

Colour Me Carbon

ImageWhat’s the hottest topic in print these days? Judging by the spate of recent announcements, it’s carbon calculators. They’re everywhere, from Google’s calculator and those of NGOs such as the Carbon Trust and Envirowise in the UK, through to energy companies the world round. Even book publishers are getting into the act. For instance, Finnish book printer WS Bookwell’s ecocalculator calculates CO2 emissions and environmental impacts based on materials alternatives, production data and print run specifications.

Green Grøset Trykk

ImageProtecting the environment has to be a top priority for all of us in the printing industry. This much we know, but taking steps to improve how we do business isn’t that simple and is made harder by the ridiculous myth that going green is an expensive proposition. Fortunately a growing number of printing companies around the world are using their brains and have recognised that green habits are good for business as well as the planet.

Pulp facts

ImagePaper is arguably one of the most useful commodities every invented, one that most of us make use of every day, and yet few people know exactly how paper is manufactured.

Since its invention paper has played an essential role in spreading literacy and knowledge, and despite our modern communications technology it is still irreplaceable. Making paper is a multi-billion dollar industry and part of a major economic sector: the global forest industry employs 13 million people in nearly 200 nations.

The Ultimate Plate

ImageWe’ve seen processless plates, and plates with low chemistry requirements, but what about a CtP plate with no coating or chemistry whatsoever?

Computer to plate production has improved printing’s carbon footprint no end because it does away with film and the associated chemistry. But the recently announced Miracle technology, developed in the UK by JPI, does away with coatings and processing entirely. JPI has patented a method of switching uncoated, grained and anodised aluminium from hydrophilic to hydrophobic states, so they don’t need any coatings at all.

In the wash

ImageDe-inking used paper is a major step towards making recycled paper, but can established de-inking processes keep up with advances in printing technology?

There is a generally accepted principle that it is better to recycle as much paper as we can, rather than cutting down trees to make paper from virgin fibres.

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