We have always tried to be as green as possible within our own office, but over the last year we have become even more aware of the impact our industry makes and decided to look into greener options. Happily, many of our existing print suppliers are doing their utmost to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Our key printer, RCS have gained the coveted ISO 14001 environmental standard, and are also FSC certificated. What this means is that every sheet of paper used can be traced back to its source. Certification means that many more trees are planted than are felled each year by the foresters supplying the paper mills. The paper used is also processed using Elemental Chorine Free Technology to avoid the production of damaging toxins. The inks used are based on clean vegetable oil and supplied in eco friendly packaging and onsite mixing technology allows them t produce pantone colours as required, to pin point accuracy, reducing wastage to almost zero.

When it comes to electricity usage, RCS have introduced a whole raft of energy saving measures, from lights that turn themselves off when the sun shines to more efficient motors. They also source their electricity from predominantly renewable sources. It goes without saying that they recycle as much as possible, and everything they are unable to reuse is graded into a range of categories and recycled or disposed of responsibly.

Large format

Another area where we have been looking into greener alternatives is in the printing of large format items such as banner stands and popups. A3M, one of our regular suppliers have introduced a new green range of products:

Posters
Using paper from managed, sustainable forestry with either FSC or PEFC accreditation, these are printed with aqueous (water based) pigment inks, and are fully recyclable after use. Unfortunately this is about as green as it gets for large posters as you cannot get recycled paper for roll fed inkjet printers… yet!

Mounted prints.
These can now be printed on foamex mount board, in varying thicknesses that is made from 80% recycled plastic; this can also be recycled after use.

Stands.
They have introduced a new range of stands using UV inks printed directly onto recycled cardboard. These take the form of a Banner Stand which is 2000mm high x 800mm wide, which folds up to easily into a box which is very light and easy to carry. A very environmentally friendly alternative to Roller banner stands. Also available is a larger panel 2400 x 1000mm which folds in half for transport, these can be linked together to form a continuous graphic wall. Stand 3 together in a slight curve and you have something equal to a Pop-up stand, and at a fraction of the cost. Free standing profile cut displays can also be created using this method, including fairly complex designs.

Also available are 2 more traditional roller banner stands, the first is made from up to 80% recycled aluminium, whilst the second is constructed from bamboo, which is the fastest growing (and therefore the most sustainable) wood. Both are fitted with a recyclable polypropylene graphic, again printed with aqueous inks.

PVC Banners.
Using a product called ‘Bio-flex’ which is a bio-degradable PVC they can produce banners that will not harm the environment. The material is made from non-harmful materials, and whilst in use behaves exactly like traditional PVC, it is as strong and as long lasting. However when placed in an oxygen free environment (ie landfill site) the material will start to bio-degrade, within 3-5 years there will only be dust remaining.

If you’re looking for a greener option for your exhibitions this year, why not give us a call to find out what solutions we can offer.