Green Printing: how Sustainability drives business success

Nessan Cleary shares sustainable printing benefits businesses and the environment. Auditing suppliers and using eco-friendly materials are crucial. Optimising production with energy-efficient equipment and minimising waste reduces costs. Proper waste disposal and premises efficiency further lower the carbon footprint. Staff training and customer recycling solutions complete the sustainable approach.

There’s considerable pressure on businesses of all sizes to improve their overall sustainability but this can affect a lot of different areas within large format and print service providers have to be across all of these. The good news is that improving the sustainability footprint should also lower costs and lead to improved profitability.

A good place to start is by commissioning a sustainability audit to work out which areas need the most improvement. These audits should include the entire supply chain, and the life cycle of the products being made. That means ensuring that your own suppliers are following best practices and that the materials you are buying in meet the applicable standards for sustainability. Your customers may increasingly also expect the same from you as they look at their supply chains.

The latest latex printers, such as this HP R530, use lower curing temperatures to help reduce energy consumption.

As part of this, you should consider applying for certification to an international standard such as ISO 14001, which can help identify areas within the business where the overall approach to sustainability can be improved. You can use the certification to such standards as part of your marketing, and many large organisations will expect their suppliers to have such certification. However, this is an ongoing commitment so it’s relatively easy in the beginning but it becomes harder to identify areas for improvement in subsequent years.

The greatest impact that a wide format service provider will have is likely to be the choice of substrates stocked and offered to clients for their work. Obviously some materials are more sustainable than others, with textiles and paper-based boards being the easiest to recycle though these may not be the best choice for some applications, such as outdoor signage. Fortunately there are also plenty of substrates that have been made with a percentage of recycled material, which at least mitigates some of their environmental impact.

Many customers will want a complete solution that includes not just printing the graphics but disposing of them afterwards. So choosing materials that can be recycled rather than sent to landfill should be seen as part of the service, and one that can be used for marketing. You should also consider how the choice of material affects the logistics, particularly the transport, of the finished graphics. A good example would be printing to a textile that can be rolled up and posted to a client to be fitted into a frame, instead of using a large heavy board that has to be delivered on a van and that might require a team to install.

You should also cut down on the amount of material used by reducing any wastage. One way to do this is by grouping jobs together that use the same material type, and nesting them together as efficiently as possible. Automating your production as much as possible will also help to reduce errors and therefore any unnecessary reprints. Using the minimum quality mode necessary for any given job will also mean printing with less passes, which will save both time and ink. Also, many RIPs and colour management programs include ink saving options that can reduce your ink costs.

Some print technologies are simply more sustainable than others. Most UV-curable printers now use LED arrays in place of the older mercury-based lamps, which last much longer and also help cut down on energy use as these arrays do not need to be warmed up or left running to get the best out of them.

Some vendors will claim that resin or latex printers are more sustainable than eco-solvent, which is partly true in that the resin inks are water-based. However, both types will require heat and air blowers to dry the prints and the overall efficiency of this drying will be the main impact on the amount of energy the printers use. Luckily, the latest generations of both solvent and resin printers are reasonably energy efficient.

There’s a good argument for regularly replacing older equipment, particularly if it’s already paid for itself, as newer machines will be more efficient and offer higher productivity. This will help cover the costs of investing in new kit as well as lowering the overall carbon footprint of the business.

It’s also important to keep machines cleaned and maintained and to proactively replace parts before they fail. This particularly applies to printheads where nozzles may become blocked, leading to missing lines and forcing reprints. Taking time to wipe nozzles regularly such as at the end of a shift will avoid these issues and ensure that the expensive printheads last longer.

It goes without saying that any waste materials and other rubbish should be properly disposed of, including recycling where possible. In any case, keeping the production floor clean and tidy will reduce the risk of accidents and allow you to show customers around to demonstrate your commitment to following best practices.

You should also think about your premises, and particularly the associated energy consumption. In the short term, turning down the heating thermostat and providing staff with fleeces can lower your overall energy bill. Other options could include fitting timer switches for lighting into lower traffic areas such as bathrooms. Longer term options might include improving the insulation and lighting to reduce the annual energy bill, which will help to cover the cost of this work. And of course the building should be properly maintained, and windows cleaned to reduce the need to have the lights on during the day.

It follows that the same considerations should also be applied to company vehicles. It makes sense to upgrade to electric vehicles given that many countries now have legislation in place to phase out internal combustion engines, and some cities operate clean air zones.

Don’t forget that a print company is more than just the machinery. Arguably your staff will be the most important asset so training them to cut waste and to put sustainability first will save some money. Many companies have information boards detailing their efforts and encouraging staff to come up with further ideas.

Finally, you can find plenty of advice on ways to improve your overall sustainability at Fespa’s events including the main show this year in Berlin, which includes the European Sign Expo.

Discover the latest innovations in signage at European Sign Expo 2025, Europe's leading signage and visual communications exhibition taking place from 6 – 9 May at Messe Berlin, Germany. It will showcase cutting-edge products, visionary concepts, and transformative developments shaping the future of signage. Register to visit here and use promo code ESEJ502 before 8th April and only pay 50 euros for your entrance ticket.