Environmentally Friendly Printing

I actively promote "Environmentally Friendly Printing", & one of my main suppliers has invested heavily in a AniColour Press.

Benefits to the Environment of AniColour Press

1. The new Anicolour press will save over 1.5 million sheets of paper per year in reduced set up sheets. Their competitors will use between 250 & 400 sheets of paper setting a job down to colour, whereas the Anicolour Press only uses 15 sheets.

2. Due to the 35% increased productivity of the machine they therefore use less electricity to print each job

3. 1.5 million sheets of paper equates to approximately 32 tonnes of paper. During the manufacture of paper, each ton will need over 1000 litres of water to produce it, and enough electricity to power a house for a week.

In addition, the heating in their factory utilises Inverta technology, which is the most cost effective way of heating a premise.

Lastly, due to the fantastic suite of machines they have, there will be 360 less trees that need to be cut down every year!


So, for a very competitive price on short to medium litho print runs, & huge benefits to the Environment, please call me on 01432 870528 for a quote, or email me at mike@spencerprint.co.uk.

Lastly, please feel free to browse & download at your leisure, my "Environmentally Friendly Printing" documents on my Scrid directory.

You will find spec sheets on recycled papers, a carbon offset calculator, and other "Green Printing" related documents.

A moment of solitude & peace leading to a connection with Mother Earth

I've had an awful bug the last couple of says, my ears feel like their going to blow up & even the wind blowing sounds like a hurricane. I somehow managed to resist the urge to go back to bed with some aspirins. I achingly stepped out of my pyjamas & dressing gown, put my clothes on, & decided to take my 2 dogs for a walk, to get some fresh air. Luckily I run my business from home in the heart of beautiful Herefordshire, & I am only a 5 minute walk from the River Wye.

On this outing, I paused on a bank high up with a breathtaking view of the River Wye & all it's glory. I closed my eyes for what seemed ages and taking deep breaths, I took in the sounds of nature, the birds singing, the insects chirping, the movement of the grass below my feet, & the wind brushing against my face. It was as though nature had taken the time out to breathe on my face, the wind was so invigorating. I then started to sense the Earth as a living force. I was reminded that the Earth is very much alive, how often, due to the stressful lives, we in the West do not take the time to sense this energy, in a moment of tranquillity and peace. We do not take the time to feel our connection with Mother Earth and Nature. Maybe we should all take the time to rediscover this magical bond that so many indigenous people share with Mother Earth. Think for instance of all the trees there, how old they are, & the memories and feelings that they have absorbed during the centuries. We are all energy fields, so it stands to reason that all this greenery must be alive.

In 1966, Cleve Backster performed an experiment that should have revolutionised the way we think about plant consciousness. He rigged a dracena cane plant (above) up to a polygraph test in order to work out its rate of water consumption however, the result was not as expected. The results of the polygraph test showed a much more human like response. A lie detector is used on a person in such a way that when they detect a threat to their well-being they produce a physiological response. The concept behind them is that they stress human thinking and emotional reactions. When Backster even thought about setting alight to a leaf of his plant he found the following reaction.

"Then at thirteen minutes, fifty-five seconds chart time, the imagery entered my mind of burning the leaf I was testing. I didn't verbalize, I didn't touch the plant, I didn't touch the equipment. The only new thing that could have been a stimulus for the plant was the mental image. Yet the plant went wild. The pen jumped right off the top of the chart".

From this point on Backster started a succession of experiments that he believed showed that the plant was in tune with his emotions. He could leave the plants alone for a length of time and sit in a bar, talking with friends and the polygraph test would measure the ups and downs in the conversation that Backster was experiencing.

This was not only true of Backster's emotions, when he poured boiling water down his sink, killing all of the microbe life that lived there, the plant responded, violently reacting to their deaths.

Backster reached the conclusion that the polygraph tests showed that plants have primary perception. He doesn't call it extra-sensory perception in the way that we would if a human were to exhibit signs of being able to read the emotions and intentions of those around him, as he doesn't see that plants have the basic senses in the first place.

Experiments with polygraphs have in fact been replicated by numerous academic laboratories worldwide, some of which are cited at the end of Backster's book. Since his original experiments in the 1960s, plant electrophysiology has advanced a great deal, and simplified tone-emitting devices are now commercially available which validate the concept of instantaneous bio communication, at least between plants.

This all comes back to the findings in quantum physics (as posted in my other articles on Pledging for Change) and the beliefs of indigenous people, that we are all connected, to nature, & Mother Earth.

I know I felt this connection, albeit too briefly, as I stood quietly and took in the moment. When I decided, reluctantly to go back, I felt re-vitalised and no longer felt so poorly & lethargic. We all need to find those moments, to re-connect with Mother Earth, and to appreciate her beauty, and that if we kill just a small part of her, we are killing a part of ourselves. The Mother Earth is a living energy, and she is sick at the moment. Like all living things, as survival is the driving force of nature, if we do not act to cure her ourselves, she may take the initiative, and shake off the cause of her ailments, mankind. There is so much beauty in this world, man is capable of such beauty also, it would be such a shame if we waste it all

Experimental Paper Mill Update

Quite some time ago I posted an article about Bio Regional's Mini Mill, an experimental plant using straw to make paper.

The last update on their web site was posted in April 2009, which is as follows:-

Progress has been made in developing BRMM’s proprietary technology. During 2007-8 with the support of grant funding from the Technology Strategy Board (formerly DTI), BioRegional MiniMills has commissioned and operated a 10% scale plant to demonstrate the Company’s proprietary black liquor gasification technology at Ahlstrom’s Radcliffe Mill in Manchester.
Ahlstrom generate black liquor from their pulp mill and although this is currently safely disposed of, they are seeking a more cost effective and sustainable alternative, which is why they are hosting the plant on site.

In 2008, the technical team, led by Philip Hartwell, succeeded in demonstrating that the BRMM process can generate energy and recover chemicals from black liquor in line with theoretical models. The team is currently carrying out a seven month work programme to be completed in the Autumn of 2009. The objective is to overcome operational issues with the aim of running the black liquor process continuously for five days. This would prove the technology sufficiently to proceed to building the first full-scale plant. In January 2009 the Northwest Regional

Development Agency awarded the Company a grant for R&D to support this work.
In addition BRMM have been developing a new pulping process. A one third scale twin screw pulping unit was installed in Manchester to trial straw pulping. They are currently testing the BRMM proprietary pulping unit with wood chip in trials supported by Scottish Enterprise and
Forestry Commission Scotland.

For further information please go to this link

Altenatively please phone BioRegional UK on o2084 044880

or email info@bioregional.com

Spencer Print Promoting Ethical Issues

Spencer Print & Talking Product Videos are proud to be part of the Pledging for Change network

Spencer Print actively promotes ethical issues such as the Environment, Animal Welfare, & spiritual matters. This is done mainly through the Talking Product Videos service on an ethical web site called Pledging for Change. Spencer Print's profile is at http://www.pledgingforchange.com/profile/MikeSpencer

You maybe interested in many of the issues I am promoting on Pledging for Change, particularly the videos I have uploaded. For instance:-

Stop Drilling the Actic

Other videos found at these links

Use Recycled Papers

Bio Degradable Laminate

Petition Against Horse Cruelty in American Horse Meat Trade

Petition Against Live Animal Skinning in Chinese Fur Trade

Pledging for Change is a great site for any ethical companies to promote their business.

Pledging for Change Share Programme

The Pledging for Change Share Programme, a great way for ethical companies to promote themselves on the web.

Pledging for Change is an ethical web site where like minded individuals & businesses promote & share ideas on global warming, anti animal cruelty & spiritual matters. I would like to invite ethical companies to join Pledging for Change's "Share Programme".

Share Program for Ethical Ads

We believe in the principle of sharing.
Give and YOU shall receive!

Pledging for Change is a Community Interest Company with a commitment to serving and helping all or our members so 100% of our profits is reinvested in grants and financial support for non-profits/charities and sustainable business

We have a "Share Program" available for sustainable business,charities and non-profits. As the owner of a sustainable business, through the Share Program you can advertise your business, generate additional income for your business, help other sustainable businesses and provide an income for charitable non-profit organizations. An income that may be substantially more than that organization could ever hope to raise through single donations.

It's BETTER than charity...it's beyond charity!

If you are a charitable organization, you can spend less of your time soliciting individuals to donate money. Instead, you can invite them to join the Share Program. With the Share Program, you can invite people to join for their own benefit as well as to help your organization. And then they invite people to join -- so they are helping you do the fundraising, which also benefits them! Everyone wins.

If you are interested in investing in our ethical directory and generating a referral income via our "Share Program", please visit our group and "give a helping hand to our charity and non-profit members".

If you wish to sign up, please go to the this link

For every 20 investors we will purchase and acre of threatened rainforest from "The World Land Trust" to protect endangered species

Many thanks & lets make the planet a better place for future generations.

Mike Spencer

Changing Attitudes to Climate Change

Everybody talks
about the weather,
but nobody does
anything about it.”
Mark Twain
“

I have been talking to Futerra, a communications company trying to change attitudes to climate change. Here is a post of their PDF which may help like minded companies trying to convince people to take climate change seriously. Alternatively, you can download the PDF at http://www.futerra.org/downloads/NewRules:NewGame.pdf


rules and games
The challenge of changing our behaviour to stop damaging the climate can seem daunting. Behaviour change is difficult; people are complicated and don’t always react as you’d expect.

Don’t panic.
These short rules are communications techniques which pull together the most effective strategies for changing people’s behaviour. They are based on a huge body of international psychological, sociological and marketing studies, gathered and analysed by Futerra. We’ve taken great concepts with terrible titles like ‘psychological reactance’ and ‘symbolic self-completion’ and translated them into simple-to-use communications tools to motivate behaviour change.
We didn’t find a magic bullet or secret formula: just simple, practical tips to encourage behaviour change. These tips are the first step in taking the massive body of evidence and using it in day-to-day communications.
The New Rules: New Game isn’t a simple, ‘one size fits all’ blueprint, and some of the tips might even, at first sight, seem inconsistent. But taken together, they provide a practical guide for action.
So… try a new communications tactic, apply these Rules – and create some much-needed change.

remember…
Five of the principles we found are so important that we kept them separate from the main list. These five concepts frame everything that comes after them. They might be easy to agree with, and a lot harder to remember when you’re planning specific communications work. But please try – they’re the most important insights we’ve found.

• Go beyond the usual suspects
We all like talking to people with the same interests, outlooks and even clothes as us: the usual suspects open to climate-friendly behaviours and the ‘seekers’, ‘pioneers’ and ‘ethical consumers’ who are already changing. But there’s been less success changing the behaviours of the people
who think, feel and even dress differently from those usual suspects.
Go find ‘em.

• Know the difference between sleepwalking and retail therapy
Conscious and unconscious behaviours are different; active and passive, choice and habit behaviours. The difference is between the behaviour of buying a car (conscious, choice, active) and that of driving a car (unconscious, habit, passive). When people are on automatic pilot – which most of us are, most of the time – ’conscious, choice, active’ messages won’t reach them.

• Refreeze good behaviours
Once you’ve woken or ‘unfrozen’ people from their sleepwalking behaviour, you can convince them to change. But once they’ve adopted the new behaviours, you need to find a way of ‘refreezing’ them, so the positive behaviour becomes an unconscious habit again.

• Forget bridging the ‘value-action’ gap
Let’s be blunt: we must stop searching for the sparkly magic bridge that simply leads from values to action, or from attitudes to behaviour. People’s
behaviours, attitudes, values and awareness are all different and linked in complicated ways – if they’re linked at all.

• Change groups
People don’t learn or change alone. Society isn’t made up of atomised individuals choosing how to act in complete isolation from those around them. The only way to change behaviour is to change what is socially acceptable: the so-called ‘social proof’.

who are you talking to?
The first lesson of communications is ‘know your audience’. You can’t talk to all of the people all of the time, so you need to research the interests, habits, social links and preferred communications channels of the people you want to reach. But there are two things to keep in mind whoever you’re talking to:

1. Keep it personal
Societal change is essential, but people’s individual circumstances still matter. Once you’ve made behaviours ‘socially acceptable’, you’ll need to make those behaviours relevant to individuals. Make your messages as personalised as possible. Create climate messages about ”my region, my town, my street, my house, me”.

2. Help people to help
People really want to be good, important and useful. Strange but true. Much climate change communications makes people feel bad, irrelevant and useless. Help people to understand (and trust) that they are making a difference.
Climate change isn’t yet in most people’s ‘locus of control’; it feels like a big nasty threat they have no influence over. Until people feel on the inside that changing their behaviour will make a difference, no amount of information, price cuts or haranguing will bring about the change needed.

the right message
The messages we use to influence behaviour are key. We’re not going to say again that simple information messages are a poor motivator: you already know that. Instead, here’s some clear guidance on what we should be saying and showing.

3. Make clear direct requests
This is the principle of ‘please do not walk on the grass’. It’s important to be very clear and specific about the behaviours that help us tackle climate change. Take care to integrate other messages and behaviour change tactics, but don’t forget to ask for what you want.

4. We’re more worried about loss than gain
Losing £5 feels more important then gaining £5. It’s a small but powerful insight. Of course you can communicate the benefits of new actions, but lead in with the real losses people are suffering as a result of their current unsustainable behaviour.

5. Empathy and Imagination are power tools
Empathy is a powerful motivator for change, but most people don’t empathise with landscapes. If places are threatened by climate change, then show the people and animals who are in danger.
People are also more concerned about the threats that can easily be imagined or visualised (e.g. plane crashes) and discount those that are too general or distant (e.g. a rise in sea levels). Help people see the threat and see the solutions – and that means using pictures as well as words.

6. Strike a careful balance with your language
The language we use to describe the challenge of climate change is huge, hyperbolic and almost pornographic; the language of the solutions is often all about ‘small, cheap and easy’. We need to make solutions sound more heroic, use grander terms, and make the scale of the solution sound equal to the scale of the problem.
Remember to make good sound normal and bad sound rare. Being good is important but being normal is even more so. Every time we say that ‘most people’ aren’t climate friendly, we’ve tipped the balance towards the wrong behaviours.

7. Feedback is crucial
If you don’t give feedback, thank people and acknowledge the progress made, then how can people be sure they’re doing the right things? Feedback reduces anxiety, helps to reinforce behaviour and increases the belief that action makes a difference.

picking the right messenger

8. Not all messengers are equal
Egg-head scientists are important messengers: they have authority, and reassure people that someone understands the complicated issue of climate change. But we need common-sense and likeable intermediaries as well, to translate the opaque pronouncements of scientists into practical and obvious advice.
how to reach people.
There is a massive range of communications channels that can be used for climate change, from advertising to education, TV to literature, newspapers to door-stepping. Here are four key insights relevant to any channel and any audience:

9. Seeing is believing
Climate change is language-heavy, but light on visuals. Whenever you’re tempted to say something, think whether you could show it instead. A picture speaks a thousand words – especially for solutions.

10. Remind, remind, remind
Marketers use ‘retrieval cues’ to remind shoppers in supermarkets about the adverts they saw on TV the night before. If you’re trying to change habits, it’s no good convincing someone just once. You need to remind them exactly when they’re taking the action you want to change.

11. Pledges have parameters
There are some tricks to pledges. First, people need to promise to someone, not just to a website or to themselves. And second, people need to believe that the pledge means something to the person they’re promising to. Commitment works, but only when personal and meaningful; otherwise, ‘pledge’ might not really mean ‘promise’.

12. Try before you buy
Letting people trial, pilot and test behaviours in a safe setting is crucial if you’re asking them to do something new.

beware
The evidence highlights some nasty side effects and barriers to changing people’s behaviour. Be aware and avoid them, or challenge them if you can.

13. The bystander effect
If you know that lots of other people are aware of a problem, you’re less likely to act yourself to solve it. Climate change suffers from the biggest and baddest bystander effect of them all – everyone else knows about it, so someone else will do something… right?

14. Free riders spoil everything
Fairness is important and people hate it when others benefit from breaking the rules. Reassure people that there’s a level playing field.

15. Tomorrow is less important
We eat our cake today, and promise ourselves we’ll diet tomorrow. The future is less important than the present, so all bad or inconvenient problems can be sent there. The positive side is that people are far more likely to commit to change if it doesn’t affect them until tomorrow.

16. Beware ‘totem’ behaviours
People often pick a small, insignificant behaviour to undertake or change to show others that they care, with no intention of changing anything else. (See Rule 19 below for ways to use this to your advantage.)

17. Money generates weak changes
Decisions based on money are shallow and fragile, and can be very vulnerable to changing circumstances.

18. The ‘sod off’ factor
Politely called ‘psychological reactance’, this means that many people’s automatic reaction to ‘you must do this’ is a simple ‘No!’

tactics for change
In addition to the specific principles above, there is a host of proven tactics for behaviour change. Not all of these work at the same time, but they do work.

19. Salesman tricks

A. Foot in the door:
Get someone to do something small and then introduce another larger action once the small one is completed. The move upwards won’t just happen on its own: communications are needed to link each rung of
the ladder.

B. Haggling:
Ask for a big or difficult behaviour, then let people agree to something smaller ‘for now’… but bigger than they would have accepted if offered
it first!

C. Reciprocity:
Give something (even if it’s small) and people feel beholden to do as you ask.

20. Make experiences big, and regular
Big sharp experiences affect behaviour more than a drip-feed of little ones. But those experiences don’t have a long shelf life, because recent experiences matter far more than distant ones. Climate change communications need an ongoing series of peaks.

21. Catalyst actions
Small behaviours don’t automatically lead to bigger ones, but big and socially visible ones can lead to smaller ones. Fitting an energy saving light bulb won’t convince people to buy a wind turbine, but a wind turbine on their roof may encourage them to buy the bulb.
22. Label people

If someone undertakes a climate-friendly behaviour (whether they intended to or not), you should say “thanks, you’re clearly someone who cares about the climate”. Next time you want something, say “if you care about the climate you should…”. They’ll be more likely to pay attention, because they’ve started wearing a mental badge that says ‘I care about the climate’.

23. Keep things compatible
Try and show how a new behaviour already fits nicely with everything else someone does. If a new behaviour isn’t shown as compatible with what they’re already doing and thinking, then it’s easier for them to ignore you than to change everything else in their life. We do like to be consistent.

24. Catch me when I’m open to change
There are times of big changes in our lives: getting married, moving house, starting a new job, having a baby or retiring. People are far more open to change in these ‘transition zones’, because their habits are all in flux. Less significant times of personal change work as well. Try communicating on payday, in spring and autumn, during our summer holidays. Change people when they’re already changing.

25. Make it a pleasure
People are constantly trying to minimise time spent on ‘personal admin’ or chores, and increase the time available for leisure, pleasure, and fulfilment. If positive behaviour is in the ‘chore’ bracket, there’s a lot less time/attention available then if it can be seen as leisure, pleasure or fulfilment behaviour.

In March 2005, Futerra launched ‘The Rules of the Game’, the elder sister to this ‘New Rules: New Game’ guide. The original Rules were developed as a guide for communication which could change attitudes towards climate change. They formed the evidence base that underpins the ongoing UK Government campaign, ‘Tomorrow’s Climate,
Today’s Challenge’
www.climatechallenge.gov.uk.
That evidence base is still very relevant, and the following Rules from that document apply just as much to behaviour as attitude:
• Everyone must use a clear and consistent explanation of climate change
• The communications must be sustained over time
• Partnered delivery of messages will be more effective
• Government policy and communications must be consistent
But, in many cases, the tactics needed to change attitude are different to those needed to change behaviour. These new Rules should be seen as a complementary resource to the original version and not a replacement. Please contact us for a copy of ‘The Rules of the Game’.the rulesof thegameRecommendations to the Climate Change Communications Working Group: Evidence base for the Climate ChangeCommunications Strategy The game is communicating climate change; the rules will help us win it. In March 2005, Futerra launched In March 2005, Futerra launched In March 2005, Futerra launched In March 2005, Futerra launched In March 2005, Futerra launched In March 2005, Futerra launched In March 2005, Futerra launched
If you are inspired or sceptical, have questions or want to know more, then please contact:
84 Long Lane • London SE1 4AU
+ 44 (0)20 7549 4700
www.futerra.co.uk • climate@futerra.co.uk

Spec Sheets for Recycled Papers

In the campaign to encourage the use of recycled papers I will on occasions be posting spec sheets of recycled papers. Here's the first one.

9Lives Offset

9lives Offset is the latest addition to PaperCo's 9lives family of 'born again papers' offering the ultimate in environmental credentials.

9lives Offset is manufactured from 100% recycled fibre and offers outstanding consistency with an excellent sheet formation.

With its high white shade, high bulk and excellent opacity 9lives Offset is the perfect choice for general commercial printing where uncoated stock is the preferred choice - all kinds of books (scholastic, reference, comics, diaries etc), leaflets, brochures, inserts, letterheads, folders and annual reports.


Environmental Information

100% recycled fibre
FSC certified
TCF

Printing

Offset litho, letterpress, silk screen and writing
Screen ruling up to 150 dpi
All printing inks suitable for uncoated paper

Process Suitability

Folding, perforating, drilling, die cutting, binding - thread, wire and adhesive

Features and Benefits

100% recycled paper product
Outstanding consistency with an excellent sheet formation
High white shade
High opacity
High bulk
Matching paper and board
Available in a comprehensive range of grammages and sizes
Suitable for archival use

Applications

Ideal for report and accounts, brochures, direct mail and publications

Award-winning Paper from Straw Technology

Award-winning Paper from Straw Technology

The BioRegional Development Group reports that a ‘new paper from straw ’technology won the Invention of the Year at the Observer Ethical AwardsCeremony this summer.

Eco entrepreneurs BioRegional MiniMill uses straw to make paper, which helps relieve pressure on world forests and also provides a revolutionary treatment to efficiently turn its waste into energy and chemicals for re-use in paper making.

Practical Application

The MiniMill particularly impressed the judges with the series of innovations that have been developed over the last ten years, leading to the construction of the working model. The panel, which comprised of celebrities and experts insustainability, recognised the revolutionary implications for paper making that the

MiniMill offers.

BioRegional MiniMills (UK) Ltd has also recently secured private funding and aDTI grant to complete the industrial scale demonstration mill. An open day will be held in early 2008, when it will be possible to see the technology in action.

Local & International Benefit

The technology can easily be installed as a ‘bolt-on’ facility at an existing paper mill, or as a complete small-scale mill near to the source of the material. This means that surplus straw around the world can be used to make quality printingand writing paper, reducing transport emissions and easing pressure on the world’s forests. The technology has been developed with an international market in mind, but is equally applicable in the UK, where four million tonnes of waste straw are produced annually. By encouraging local production, the MiniMill technology supports the development of local jobs and industries and helps to reduce carbon related transport emissions. A study by Surrey University shows that local pulp supply reduces transport emissions by up to 90% when compared to imported pulp.

Sue Riddlestone, Managing Director, said: “we are delighted that the MiniMill has been recognised by the Observer Ethical Awards. Wheat straw has been used to make paper in the UK within living memory. The clean technology provided by the MiniMill allows this excellent paper making material to be used again, without harming the environment”.

Links & Follow-up
For more information, please email BioRegional MiniMills Managing Director,

Sue Riddlestone, or telephone
+44(0)20 8404 4885.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Full credit for this article goes to Jennie Organ. The article appeared on an
excellent green directory, Grown Up Green.

The site is http://www.grownupgreen.org.uk

At my previous printer I received regular updates from the MiniMill as I was on
their subscribe list. I will try andkeep you posted as things develop.

If you want to see for yourself, the site is http://www.bioregional.com

Envionmental Printing - Useful Things to Know

Alcohol-free or low-alcohol printing

Lithographic printing that uses reduced amounts or no isopropyl alcohol (IPA), thereby reducing VOC emissions.

Dampening (or fountain) solution

This is used to keep the non-image areas of the plate moist, preventing them from accepting ink. Dampening solution usually contains high levels of a solvent called isopropyl alcohol (IPA) which contributes to VOC emissions. Some are available with a low IPA content or are IPA free.

Waterless printing eliminates the need for dampening solution altogether.

Heavy metals

Heavy metals are natural components of the Earth's crust. They cannot be degraded or destroyed. Tiny amounts are essential for human health, but at higher concentrations they can lead to poisoning.

Heavy metals may enter the body in food, water, air, or by absorption through the skin.

Heavy metals such as barium, copper and zinc are contained in certain ink pigments, particularly metallics. Studies have linked the use of heavy metals in some inks to an increased risk of printers developing bladder cancer.

IPA (Isopropyl alcohol)

Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used as a cleaner and solvent in industry. Lithographic printers combine it with water to create ‘dampening solution’ which repels the ink in non-image areas.

IPA contributes to ground level ozone which can effect plant and crop growth and poses a potential health hazard to printers as it can lead to, amongst other things, asthma.

Mineral oil based inks (also known as petroleum based inks)

These are the most commonly used inks not least because of their quick drying time. The pigment is suspended in petroleum with Isopropyl alcohol as the solvent (see above). As the ink dries, alcohol and petroleum evaporate, releasing VOCs.

Added to this – petroleum is a non-renewable resource.

Solvents

A solvent is a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances. Solvents used in the lithographic print process include:

• mineral oil which is used to reduce the viscosity of ink
• Isopropyl alcohol (also referred to as IPA, see definition above) which is toxic to aquatic life
• Toluene which is used in cleaning solutions and contributes to the formation of ozone
• Methyl Ethyl Ketone which is used as a solvent for lacquers, adhesives and inks and is also toxic to aquatic life

Vegetable based ink

Vegetable based inks can be made from a variety of vegetable oils including soy-bean, corn, and linseed oils. Replacing mineral oil with vegetable oil means that you can reduce or even cut out VOC emissions.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

These are carbon-containing gases and vapors that are released from solvents used during the printing process.

The most significant environmental impact of VOCs is their formation with vehicle exhaust to form photochemical smog. However, in liquid form VOCs can effect water and soil quality.

They also have an effect on the health of pressroom workers and have been linked to breathing difficulties, liver and kidney damage.

Waterless printing

Waterless printing is basically sheet-fed litho printing using different printing plates and a method of transferring the image to the paper without using water.

Removing water from the process means that you also eliminate the problem of achieving the correct balance of ink and water on press. It also eliminates the need for IPA (see above).

top

ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION SCHEMES

EMAS

This stands for the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, an initiative designed to improve companies’ environmental performance. EMAS sets the highest environmental standards of all the environmental management schemes (EMS). Its aim is to recognise those organisations that go beyond minimum legal compliance. In addition, it is a requirement of the scheme that participating organisations regularly produce a public environmental statement that reports on their environmental performance. It is this voluntary publication of environmental information, whose accuracy and reliability is independently checked by an environmental verifier, that gives participants in the EMAS scheme enhanced credibility.

IS0 14001

This is an internationally recognised scheme. It provides a framework for environmental awareness, monitoring and continual improvement. The three key areas to be managed are:

• Compliance with environmental regulation
• Prevention of pollution
• Improvement in environmental performance

The emphasis on continual improvement means that standards may vary as the longer a printer has been in the ISO14001 scheme, the more progress they will have made.

Green Dragon

This scheme is for Welsh companies that wish to improve their environmental performance but don’t have the resources for ISO14001. There are five levels, each one contributing towards the achievement of international and European environmental standards, ISO 14001 and EMAS. Green Dragon Level 5 is in fact a slightly higher standard than ISO14001, partly because it takes carbon emissions into account.

Greenmark

This was developed by the London Environment Centre (LEC), part of London Metropolitan University and is more appropriate for smaller companies who lack the resources for IS0 14001. All participants enter the scheme at Level One where you must demonstrate that you are taking responsibility for your environmental impacts. Further levels involve recommendations being made and targets being set and met for reducing environmental impact.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody

If a printer holds the FSC Chain of Custody and the paper being used in a project is FSC certified or FSC recycled (100 per cent recycled post-consumer waste), the end product can be labelled as FSC certified. This certificate is about the fibre tracking process only and ensures that there is no contamination between FSC and non-FSC material.

PAPER TERMINOLOGY

The following three terms, ECF, PCF and TCF, are commonly used, but since no papers are made in Europe using chlorine bleaching, all European papers are either ECF, PCF or TCF. So when choosing a paper, bear in mind that these terms cannot be used as a differentiator.

Elemental chlorine free (ECF)

This term is used to mean paper that is made from virgin or recycled fibre and bleached using alternative chlorine compounds as a substitute for elemental chlorine. See note above.

Processed chlorine free (ECF)

This is used to mean paper that is made from recycled post-consumer waste (PCW) and bleached without chlorine, or left unbleached. See note above.

Totally chlorine free (TCF)

This term is used to mean paper made from 100% virgin fibre that is bleached without chlorine, or left unbleached. It isn’t applied to recycled papers, because the source fibre cannot be determined. See note above.

Post-consumer waste

This is when the end product has reached the consumer, been used and then recycled.

Pre-consumer waste

Also known as post-industrial waste, this describes printers’ waste such as off-cuts and unused copies which may have been over-ordered.

PEFC

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification Schemes is an international forest industry initiative that acts as an umbrella for many smaller national forestry schemes.

FSC

The Forest Stewardship Council is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests and is the only certification scheme endorsed by NGOs worldwide.

The number of FSC-certified forests is growing rapidly, covering 84 million hectares worldwide – about 10% of the world’s production forest.

Forests are inspected and certified against the 10 Principles of Forest Stewardship, which take into account environmental, social and economic factors.

In addition to forest management and certification, the FSC Chain of Custody tracks the timber from the forest to the paper mill and then to the printer.

If a printer is FSC certified, then the end product can carry the FSC label ensuring that there has been no contamination between FSC and non-FSC material. However, the Chain of Custody is broken if the manufacturing mill or printer is not FSC certified.

There are three types of FSC Certified paper:

FSC Mixed Sources

The Mixed Sources label states that at least 50 per cent of the virgin fibre must come from FSC certified forests with the remaining percentage from 'controlled sources'. Recycled waste can also be included up to a maximum of 90%. The majority of FSC certified materials featured on Lovely as a Tree carry this label.

Controlled sources exclude:

• illegally harvested timber
• forests where high conservation values are threatened
• genetically modified organisms
• violation of peoples’ civil and traditional rights
• wood from forests harvested for the purpose of converting the land to plantations or other non-forest use

100% FSC

No explanation needed!

FSC Recycled

These papers are made from 100% post-consumer waste by FSC accredited mills.