The Ahlfeldt & Company print shop in Wiesbaden, Germany has started production operations with the first carbon-neutral Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor from Heidelberg. The 62 metric tons of CO2 emissions generated during the manufacture of the five-colour press was offset by investing in a certified climate protection project in Vietnam.

　　Armin Ahlfeldt, production manager at Ahlfeldt & Company says, “We see printing as an integrated process that starts with the manufacture of the press itself. It is impossible for our day-to-day printing operations to be any more environmentally friendly than they are with the Anicolor press.

　　Compared to traditional small-format offset printing, the Anicolor inking unit cuts makeready times by almost 40 per cent, according to Heidelberg. What's more, eliminating ink zone setting also makes job changes faster and reduces waste by up to 90 per cent.

　　Ahlfeldt says, “Top-quality green printing isn't a contradiction in terms and the Anicolor press has also got the economic balance right.”

　　Founded in 2004, the Ahlfeldt & Company print shop employs eight staff and produces commercial products such as flyers, mailings, brochures, and magazines. Ahlfeldt & Company is FSC-certified and obtains all its paper from a single supplier based in Europe to cut down on transport.

　　At the prepress stage, a Suprasetter A 75 images chemical-free printing plates. And Saphira inks with low mineral oil content are used in production and all the electricity required is generated from hydroelectric power.

　　Ahlfeldt continues, “We work with a large number of regional and national agencies and industrial customers who ask for products that employ eco-friendly printing. The Anicolor press will win us lots of new customers by enabling us to combine green printing with top quality.”

　　The Anicolor press is integrated in the Prinect print shop workflow and is part of a two-and-a-half-shift production operation. Print runs vary between 20 and 400,000 sheets. Before the end of the year, the print shop intends to produce 14 million prints.