Eco-Friendly Printing Solutions: How Sustainable Materials are Changing the Industry
Despite technological advancements and digital alternatives, printing still remains a popular choice. It has been here for more than 2000 years and now it’s experiencing significant change to save our planet from disaster. We all know how quickly we are heading towards global warming. This burning issue has rapidly changed most industries, encouraging them to adopt sustainable options as a strategic move. Printing is not very far with its recent changes, such as going green and becoming sustainable with material choices.
Let’s take a look at some eco-friendly solutions that have significantly changed the printing industry.
How the Printing Industry is Going Eco-Friendly
Printing can cause significant damage to our eco-system due to using materials heavily based on volatile organic compounds. However, printing companies are rapidly changing their practices to minimize their environmental footprint.
Equipment and technological Advancements
Recent technological advancements have made it possible to print without using excessive amounts of water, such as waterless printing techniques. Many equipment uses green printing techniques, enabling them to print high-quality visuals and texts even with low-VOC inks. Some newer printer models even come with energy-saving modes to reduce energy consumption and lead the printing industry toward sustainability.
Using Paper Alternatives
Many printing companies have introduced paper alternatives that are more sustainable and eco-friendly. Different materials are used to create wood pulp alternatives, like bagasse, bamboo, hemp, and even stone. Recently stone paper has become a very reasonable alternative to regular paper, offering durability and water resistance qualities.
Biodegradable Inks and Toners
Printing inks have changed from chemicals to naturally sourced materials. Materials like soy, linseed, cottonseed, and tung oil are being used to make inks and toners that are easily recyclable and do not cause much environmental damage. Many vegetables are rich in pigment, which can essentially be converted into inks and processed for eco-friendly alternatives. However, sourcing these materials is still not on wide-scale.
Switching to Plant-Based Materials
Every material used in the printing process is gradually converted into plant-based. Many plants including cottonseed, linseed, and tung oils are all used as natural alternatives to produce inks, toners, and other printing essentials. All such conversions are helping the printing industry go green and choose sustainable materials to save our ecosystem.
Inclining Toward Recycling
More and more companies are inclined toward recycling and are using printing material packaging that can either be reused or recycled. Less waste means fewer landfills and, ultimately, less global warming. And these recyclable materials are even eco-friendly at the end of their life, and easily get decayed without leaving any residue to harm the environment.
Final Thoughts!
The printing industry is rapidly adopting sustainable printing solutions like changing printing materials and sourcing them ethically and responsibly. Furthermore, low energy and water consumption are also helping reduce their carbon footprint by using advance printing techniques.
