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Print: Lean, Green, Sustainable
December 18, 2007
After pulling an all-nighter, a group of energetic German engineers presented something truly exciting: the carbon footprint of a 40 inch sheetfed press. We reported on the audacious move briefly in e-GAM and plan a more extensive presentation in print. One takeaway is that a printed product's carbon footprint, exclusive of ink and shipping, is roughly equivalent to the weight of the paper used. ANother is that simple things, like moving the dryer one centimeter closer to the substrate, can greatly cut power usage.
But that audacious effort underscores something that is frequently disregarded: the carbon footprint of non-print media. They do have one, after all. Folks who live online are advised these days to shut down their energy sucking computers when not in use. Lovers of extremely large flat screen televisions are encouraged to consider a less energy-hogging smaller model.
But this rumination is about neither of those issues. Here I want to to remind that tiny portion of the world that listens to me that green printing is also lean printing. We are taking steps toward greener print at GAM, which is cool, running a 100% post consumer recycled cover and presenting its carbon footprint in the December 2008 issue--with a cover story developed by Quad/Graphics.
And to take this thought a step further, look at the news from San Jose, CA Nanosolar, we'll call them a printing company that happens to produce solar panels that makes solar power plants cheaper to build than coal fired ones--a buck a watt. Nanosolar raised $100 million to build a 647,000 sq.ft. plant, and now has sold its first production to a German firm, which will use it to power 400 homes. Here's the printing press in action.
So let's keep print from being a target for environmental activists. After all, the carbon footprint of a book balanced over even a 10 year lifespan is way lower than a computer running an equal amount of time.
Posted by Bill Esler on December 18, 2007 | Comments (0)
