A park bench and a street bollard aren’t what you’d expect to find on an exhibition stand at a print show. But at last month’s Digital Print World, Ricoh used these very objects to make a point about the environment. While the items appeared quite disparate, both were made from recycled toner cartridges.

　　Ricoh isn’t the only digital manufacturer making a noise about the environment. Like litho, manufacturers in the sector are trying to find new ways to make their equipment more energy-efficient and green.

　　Last month, Océ teamed up with Delta-Simons, which has worked on bespoke environmental management systems for corporate giants that include Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola. Océ has made its VarioPrint 6000 series ‘carbon positive’, which it says doubles the offsetting compared to other carbon offsetting schemes.

　　“It is customers that are really driving this, not government legislation ,” explains Delta-Simons managing director Gareth Pickles. “Océ is putting a lot of effort and time into pushing the eco-message forward.”

　　“Customers want to know exactly what you are doing,” adds Océ marketing manager Ed Hudson. “They want to know that they are dealing with a supplier that is committed to the environment and they want details on how you’ve invested in this area.”

　　Talking to clients

　　According to Ricoh associate director of marketing Chas Moloney, the move towards green manufacturing comes from a variety of sources. “The printers themselves are the starting point and their customers are driving them. Those organisations are talking to the businesses that they do business with.”

　　Everyone seems to be demanding better environmental standards and digital print is not immune. Manufacturers are now making attempts to rise to the challenge and give a helping hand to those print companies that have visions of being the greenest in their market.

　　And this process starts with the manufacturers. Digital print has its detractors who claim that whether it’s toner or inkjet, the sector produces heavily inked work making it difficult to recycle. There’s also high energy usage and the amount of CO2 used in the manufacturing process of the machines themselves. Manufacturers are taking these charges on board in a serious way. Some had looked at the environment long before it became the contentious issue that it is today. Konica Minolta’s Japanese developers have been thinking green since as far back as 1973.

　　The company’s policy is to promote sustainable development and growth and its official line is that it integrates “environmental, economic and social perspectives into our business strategies so that our business activities
are implemented in harmony with people and with the environment in all aspects”.

　　Konica stresses that this is not simply a case of paying lip service to an important cause, a charge often levelled at companies that talk up their eco-credentials. It has an environmental management committee charged with  developing the company’s mid-term environmental plans.

　　Lower fuse temperatures

　　These plans centre around the need to create machines that produce greener output. Konica Minolta’s colour machine, the Bizhub C550, incorporates the Simitri HD toner, which uses a lower fusing temperature cutting the amount of energy needed. It also reduces the amount of toner used in image reproduction. And even the way the Simitri toner is manufactured cuts emissions by 32%, and nitrogen oxide by 40%, compared to the traditional manufacturing process. Sulphur oxide emissions have also gone down by 42%.

　　“There is work still to be done and that will be reflected in all the new machines that are coming out,” says Konica Minolta business manager for the Bizhub range Pauline Brooks. “The 550 and 650 ranges can use a much wider and varied range of papers, including recycled. We are going down the right path but there is still development work to do.”

　　Energy saving is one of the key areas where improvements can be made. Océ’s VarioPrint 6000 was singled out for the carbon positive scheme because it reduces the amount of energy used in the production process. The flagship press could be joined by other Océ machines in the carbon positive scheme very soon. “Future models have to be more energy-efficient,” insists Hudson. Epson is a manufacturer that has won plaudits for its energy-efficient Stylus Pro 3800 printer. The wide-format machine received an Ecohitech award for its energy and CO2 reductions. It was estimated that, compared to other models, the 3800’s CO2  emissions had been reduced by 44% and the amount of  resources used during production were down by 55%.

　　Research and development departments are committing plenty of time and effort into making sure that machines are greener. Ricoh, which charts its green credentials to the 1970s, and its ongoing drive to become more environmentally friendly, has led to it coming up with “fantastic plastic”. 

　　“It’s recycled plastic that goes on to the outside of our machines,” says Moloney. “We are also looking at vegetable-based toners and making every effort to get away from the use of petroleum in our products. This isn’t just about offsetting and my job is to make sure that, in the UK, we do reduce our carbon emissions. People just say that they offset but it’s not good practice. You have to do it in real terms.”

　　Corporate responsibility

　　And this goes beyond the manufacturing process. Ricoh UK is encouraging its staff to drive diesel or hybrid cars and is moving towards more teleconferencing. Océ’s carbon positive approach isn’t just for its VarioPrint 6000, but for the UK company as a whole. Carbon management goes hand-in-hand with corporate responsibility, sustainable development and other issues.

　　“This is an ongoing process without boundaries,” adds Hudson. “It’s about engaging with the community and making the process tangible. The environmental message has to go through every part of the company.”

　　Roland is another manufacturer that is making strides to ensure its environmental house is in order. In March this year the group managed a recycling ratio of 99.3% and has incorporated solar and wind-power generators at its production facilities. “We have introduced material safety data sheets to pre-evaluate new products,” says Roland UK managing director Jerry Davies. “This ensures that the quantity of specific chemical substances used in our products is below the required levels.”

　　While there’s no doubt that the digital sector is acting to get its environmental house in order, most would agree that more still needs to be done. As anyone committed to being green will tell you, it’s an ongoing process. Also, while no printing machine can boast to being 100% green, efforts are being made to reduce emissions and make it easier for any printer to be environmentally friendly.

　　And with research and development departments dedicating more time in this area, you can expect digital manufacturers to be talking about, and proving, their green credentials over the next few years.