The Verdigris Blog by Laurel Brunner

This article was produced by the Verdigris project, an industry initiative intended to raise awareness of print’s positive environmental impact. This weekly commentary helps printing companies keep up to date with environmental standards, and how environmentally friendly business management can help improve their bottom lines. Verdigris is supported by the following companies: Agfa Graphics, EFI, Fespa, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Miraclon, Ricoh, Spindrift, Splash PR, Unity Publishing and Xeikon.

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Xeikon is doing more with less

medium_2015_Laurel B.jpgThe Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner

Xeikon has recently introduced a new program for its digital press customers, to help them improve production efficiencies. This is a hands on effort that users of Xeikon digital presses can implement in order to cut production time, ink and toner consumption, materials waste and energy usage. The idea is to help customers to better cope with cost increases in electricity and the increasingly worrying spectre of materials shortages. Overall the plan should also cut environmental impacts, by making businesses more efficient.

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.

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