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This is a question that we have been asked on countless occasions. Below are a selection of questions and answers that we hope will answer this one big question.
Yes. Waterless Offset is the ultimate environmentally friendlier printing process
No. The Waterless Offset process produces a higher quality product than offset lithography, with brighter colours, sharper ‘dots’ and much finer screen rulings possible.
The first reason is water. As you know the water supply is finite. There is no more fresh water on the planet than there was 2000 years ago. In those days the population was only 3% of its present size.
It is estimated that a medium sized printer with three presses could use up to 120,000 litres of water every year. In the UK there are in excess of 12,000 printing companies. That is a lot of water.
Waterless Offset also reduces VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions by 98%. The remaining 2% being the VOCs used in cleaning fluids and inks. The VOC content of inks can also be reduced by the use of vegetable oil based inks instead of mineral based ink. The average printer emits 20 tonnes of VOCs every year!
The major environmental impact of VOCs lies in their involvement in the formation of ground level ozone. Ozone is not emitted directly into the air, instead it is created when oxides of nitrogen, produced when fossil fuels are burned in motor vehicles, power plants and industrial boilers, and the VOCs react in the sunlight and heat. Even at low concentrations, ozone can cause respiratory problems and aggravated the symptoms of asthma.
That’s where you are wrong. The print industry is regarded as the 5th largest manufacturing industry in the UK but it is the 6th most damaging for the environment. Every little bit helps - we all make a difference.
Not necessarily. If a company holds ISO14001 or even the EMAS environmental qualifications it does not mean that the printer will be printing by the environmentally friendlier Waterless Offset process.
No, any printer who uses the Waterless Offset process can use the Waterless kitemark. Any company who uses Seacourt can display our environmental straplines and logos on publications which Seacourt have printed.
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