Superior sustainability
‘Sustainability’ has been one of the standout buzzwords in the industry for a number of years now, with more customers demanding increasingly greener work from their print-service-provider (PSP) in order to satisfy their own clients’ needs.
While this places a significant amount of pressure on PSPs to ensure they are meeting these demands, there are plenty of simple, cost-effective steps that print companies can take to become greener without having to break the bank.
Here, we take a look at how you can become more sustainable and grow your business at the same time.
Understanding options
First up, Perspex Distribution offers a wide range of Perspex cast acrylic and a selection of other thermoplastic sheet, rod and tube products. Marketing manager Luke Martyn says sustainability was a key talking point for the PSPs that Perspex spoke to at the recent Sign & Digital UK event, revealing there was a universal desire to understand more about the options available in the market for them.
Perspex re is a 100% recycled cast acrylic product from Perspex Distribution
“Some PSPs were exploring a desire to extend a greener offering to their customers through an increased use of recycled products, others were being led by end user specification with those working within the retail sector being particularly driven to using greener products,” Martyn says.
“As distributors, we work closely with manufacturing partners to translate the needs of customers, including PSPs, and ensure these are reflected in ongoing product development.
“We saw fantastic excitement for our new green solutions from wide-format printers at Sign & Digital UK, where we launched a range of new materials both available now and entering our range shortly. There are now new recycled variants available in all key substrates used by wide-format printers.”
Perspex offered live demonstrations on PERSPEX re, a new 100% recycled cast acrylic, 80% recycled alupanel aluminium composite and Marpet-g Eco, a new 50% recycled PETg plastic. The company also showcased Palight Re-NU, a new 100% recycled PVC foam to be available later this year.
Brett Martin gathers 50% of its production energy for PETg from sustainable sources
While over 90% of the Perspex product range is 100% recyclable, Martyn explains that the company’s focus on and commitment to the environment goes much further than this in the way it operates.
Across all of its branches, Perspex uses cutting optimisation software to ensure every order is cut as efficiently as possible, meaning customers only need to purchase the minimum amount of material for their requirements, thus minimising waste later on.
The Perspex vehicle fleet has also achieved ‘Gold’ fleet status, verified by the Energy Saving Trust, for reducing its vehicle CO2 emissions, while the company is a partner with a number of major print substrate manufacturers that also invest in sustainable practices.
“While sustainability often leads users down the route of recycled products, it is also important to be aware of the sustainability footprint over the lifespan of a substrate’s use in application,” Martyn explains.
“We supply PSPs with substrates with up to a ten-year lifespan and in some instances the benefits of a material with a long lifespan can outweigh the impact of ‘greener’ recycled products that required regular replacements, so it remains important for PSPs to evaluate the materials and their application suitability for each project.”
Changing behaviours
Looking to the issue of sustainability and print hardware, HP has a host of green-minded options on offer to PSPs seeking to become more planet friendly. Jose Gorbea, head of global brands, agencies and sustainability innovation at HP, says the manufacturer is seeing more customers alter their behaviours and habits and switching to more sustainable options where possible.
Jose Gorbea, head of global brands, agencies and sustainability innovation at HP
“In fact, a recent study found that almost 60% of consumers want to alter their purchasing habits to be more sustainable,” Gorbea says, adding: “It is important for PSPs to react to this change and provide alternatives, allowing them to tap into this growing market. They must not underestimate the demand for sustainable packaging and must be able to best advise their customers on this ever-growing trend.
A recent study found that almost 60% of consumers want to alter their purchasing habits to be more sustainable”
“It is also important they understand what is meant by ‘sustainable packaging’ and ensure they can provide these solutions. As the sector evolves, those which prove themselves to be the best advisors and a provider of the most innovative solutions will reap the rewards and cement their place as leaders within the industry.”
Before jumping into a new purchase, Gorbea recommends PSPs and their customers work together to create measurable sustainability goals for their packaging and branding, which are clear cut and provide an indicator to aim towards. The next step would then be to explore how HP’s digital printing solutions help PSPs achieve these goals.
Gorbea offers the HP PageWide industrial presses as an example, explaining they offer on-demand and short run printing, which can help to reduce the quantity of waste produced. The presses also have no plates to produce, store or even dispose of meaning again, waste is reduced, while they also use water-based inks and have the capacity to support a range of sustainable material options.
Printful is working to eliminate fashion industry waste from going to landfill
Going further still, Gorbea explains HP is making a concerted effort to be more sustainable as a corporation as a whole, and this will be of further benefit to PSPs seeking to become more green and sustainable.
“One way that we are making sustainable choices is through the Sustainable Forests Collaborative, which ensures that none of HP’s packaging contributes to deforestation,” Gorbea says, adding: “All of HP’s packaging is derived from certified and recycled sources which is one of the ways the company is reducing its impact on the environment.
“HP’s industrial business has also launched the HP Indigo Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programme, which offers previously owned presses at a more accessible price. These pre-owned presses are renewed to ensure they offer the expected benefits, quality and reliability of new HP Indigo presses.
“The portfolio of included presses covers the HP Indigo 10000, HP Indigo 12000, the HP Indigo 7000 and the narrow-web 6000 series. Giving these printers a second life is one of the ways we are reducing our waste and making sustainable changes.”
Saving money
Another company committed to sustainability is Printful. Alize Zindiga, corporate social responsibility project manager at Printful, says sustainability should be important to all printers, given the focus on this subject in the wider world.
“Our print-on-demand business model allows our customers to enter the fashion world while leaving a smaller mark on the planet than conventional production methods,” Zindiga says, adding: “Around 85% of all textiles produced by the fashion industry end up in landfills, which massively contributes to environmental damage.
“We’re trying to eliminate this possibility with on-demand manufacturing because we start fulfilment only once a customer has placed their order. Our mission is to make on-demand manufacturing the norm for a planet with finite resources and people with infinite ideas.
“There’s also a common misconception that sustainable solutions create a lot of additional costs when, in fact, not optimising our recycling and fabric waste would be far more expensive for us. It’s costly to hold deadstock as well.”
Focusing on some of the specific initiatives Printful has in place, Zindiga highlights how the company last year gradually introduced post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) for packaging at its in-house facilities, as a way of reducing its impact on the planet.
Printful last year also found a way to reduce fabric waste from its all-over print products. These products are made by printing every part of the product on a roll of fabric, cutting them out, and sewing them together – a process that inevitably leaves fabric scraps.
O Factoid: According to Printful, around 85% of all textiles produced by the fashion industry end up in landfills O
“We’ve launched two new all-over print products that we can fit between the layouts of bigger products—the All-Over Print Scrunchie and the All-Over Print Headband,” Zindiga explains, adding: “These products help us use at least some portion of fabric that we otherwise would throw away.
“In 2021, we also managed to double the number of eco-friendly products we launched. In 2020, the number of such products reached 10, so we took the challenge to add twice as much.
"And we’re definitely not stopping there. In the coming years, the Printful team will continue to look for and add new sustainable products to our catalogue, so our customers have plenty of options.”
While some still consider sustainability a costly factor for businesses, the examples set out here show there are plenty of ways PSPs can become more planet friendly without having to spend large amounts of cash. Simple changes to the business can have a huge impact on your green image and help you attract new work from like-minded customers.
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