ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Can printing be eco-friendly?

Printing, in its various forms, has a significant impact on the environment, primarily due to paper production, energy consumption, ozone generation and the creation of waste plastics and consumables. Kirkcudbright Vintage Printworks is defining an eco friendly way of working from the outset.

Paper is one of the main consumables needed in both letterpress and digital printing. It's important that I keep its use under control and my standard paper is always made from 100% recycled materials. When I have to use specialised papers (photographic, or silk cardstock for example) I ensure these are sourced from companies using certified, sustainable forestry resources that reduce environmental impact. When I use craft products (such as greeting cards) they are also sustainable and made from recycled materials.

Digital Printing can be quite energy intensive but my main print system uses a fraction of the energy of an equivalent machine made by other manufacturers. It also uses less toner per print and uses a toner designed to fuse at 30c lower that conventional systems.

Plastic Waste and contribution to landfill is a concern of digital printing so we are using printers that are built using recycled plastics and have durable and long life components that reduce waste. They use a large toner system rather than ink cartridges which eliminates the need to continually replace plastic cartridges and this helps to minimise landfill waste.

Ozone is generated during the laser printing process but our printers use an ozone free printing method that use photoreceptor units that combine positively charged drums and a roller charging system to reduce ozone output to undectectable levels.

Oil Based Inks are traditionally used in letterpress printing or alternatively rubber based inks. Both of these have a downside of containing VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds), they are difficult to dispose of and require solvents to clean up after use. I only use traditional inks that I have diverted from land-fill and I use environmentally safer products such as "Clean Spirit" for cleanup. When I require new inks I use safe alternatives that use vegetables oils as a base.

Laminating typically uses plastic pouches that often end up in landfill. I only ever use biodegradable and recyclable laminator pouches. I provide high quality 125 micron which are just as clear and stronger than standard pouches. I use a low powered laminator which is ISCC Plus certified.

Greeting Cards are sold in the shop but they are all produced on recycled and sustainable papers. The envelopes are also 100% recycled and use a gum for sealing that is made from potato starch rather than animal based products. All cards are supplied in Celo-Wraps but these are made from renewably sourced plant based polypropylene with 90% recycled content.

Finally I only print what is needed. I prefer to print small runs and if you need more of something I'll just print some more. I try to ensure that people aren't ordering 2,000 prints "just in case" and then throwing away 500 of them. I'm happy to print small runs and provide top ups when you get low. There are no job setup costs so it will only save money and waste by working this way.