Green printing is the latest rage all around. More and more people are choosing green printing services with increasing enthusiasm. Everyday, an ever growing number of printers the world over are switching over to green printing. However, it will be wrong to call it just a fad. It is more of a change that has been necessitated by our growing concern about the environment.
Frankly, mankind has never been more concerned about environmental issues than now. We have started to reappraise many facets of our daily lives in the light of the impact they have on the environment. The products we use have come under scrutiny. So have many of our habits such as those related to our power consumption, waste disposal and so on. This rising awareness has necessitated the need to take a fresh look at our industries too. Commercial institutions and industries have long been the silent culprit behind polluting the environment and slowly but surely, exhausting the earth’s natural resources.
Let’s look at the printing industry as a case in point. No doubt, printing services are still among the most sought after services on the planet. The promise of a ‘paperless’ world is ye to be realized fully. Mankind still needs paper. At home, at office, and elsewhere � the need for paper and paper products doesn’t seem to diminish. Printing jobs are still in much need today and printing presses everywhere are keeping busy with a steady flow of orders everyday.
This is where the problem lies. Amidst all this wonderful prosperity of the printing industry, lies the germ of destruction. Like most other production operations, printing houses also produce harmful wastes. These are typically known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), caused by the use of petroleum-based inks, laminates, varnishes and adhesives. Apart from polluting the environment, they also pose a grave risk to our health. Studies show that these compounds, if inhaled, increase the risk of asthma attacks.
The way out of this madness is embracing green printing. Green printing is not just about adopting measures that check environmental pollution, but also about conserving our natural resources. In fact, the issue of conservation is no less important than the need to stop polluting the environment. Green printing only attempts to combine both. Did you know that the paper and printing industry ranks fourth among manufacturers in the amount of energy used? Producing paper and the electricity used for factory operations, as well as the actual printing process, demand lots of fossil fuels. Printers, thus, put a major strain on the planet, draining her natural resources in alarming magnitude.
Qualified eco-friendly green printing services not only keep track of the total energy usage, but also adopt strategies for offsetting the adverse effects of their operations on the environment. The keyword is being ‘sustainable’. In other words, it means carefully planning operations to minimize electricity use, putting a lighter drain on natural resources and sourcing paper from companies certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). It also involves recycling and reusing paper and other supplies whenever possible.
Let us not forget for a moment that it is only through green printing we can ensure a truly green tomorrow for our children. Let’s go green today!