Greener than green...

• Long ago we switched from oil based ink to a much safer soy based ink.
Production of soybeans use only about 0.5% of the total energy to produce the ink. Soybean crops require very little irrigation and leave much less agricultural residue than most crops. Soy ink also has low levels of VOCs, (volatile organic compounds) which helps to reduce air pollution by minimizing toxic emissions.
• The addition of our Indigo digital presses have made true on-demand printing a reality. Printing only what you need saves paper, requires less storage, and is much less expensive. A conventional offset press might take two or three hundred sheets to get the color up. The Indigos can take as little as one or two sheets. Also, Indigo presses give off less VOCs than other digital presses.
• Our CTP (Computer To Plate) system uses only one chemical to develop plates...water. Nothing but water. In the past in order to make a plate we first had to send files to an imagesetter. This machine would output the file on large sheets of photographic film. This film would then be developed in conventional photo chemicals. After the film was checked and stripped it would be "burned" onto the printing plate using a UV light source. The plate would then be developed in more nasty chemicals. Now, no film, no chemicals, no fumes, no disposal problems...just water. And, when we're finished with the plates they are recycled.
• We use a substantial amount of recycled paper. As more types become available that amount will grow.