CEI is a leading domestic converter of flexible packaging products, which are produced using clean production technologies, renewable resources, and recyclability making the company a market leader in sustainable packaging products.

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PrintUV 2010 – Three days in March

UV technology is evolving almost faster than we can keep up. During a time when sheetfed equipment sales plummeted 67% and commercial ink sales dropped between 10% and 50%, UV printing technology has thrived.

This year’s event, held March 7-9 in Las Vegas, had both technical sessions and business sessions, and it was clear that getting up and running with UV doesn’t stop at the plant floor. Training sales and customer service reps to sell the technology is as critical as installing a printer or curing unit.

Out of the rut

Rod Franson, General Manager, Carlson Print Group, talked about the challenges he faced bringing UV technology into his company. He looked at UV printing as a way to get out of the “rut” of general commercial printing. The change to UV helped turn Carlson into a “learning company” where learning – and change – is part of the culture.

By focusing on some really well done promotional pieces, the sales team got excited about the new technology. Yes, it did cost a lot of money to create and produce the promotions, but in the end the question was: “Why didn’t we do this years ago?”

“It is not easy; it will cost you money,” said Rod. “Be committed, get your policies and procedures in place, and train and support your sales team.” He describe himself as “sick and tired of being sick and tired” as the competition sold jobs for just about Carlson’s cost of paper. Finding a way to differentiate the company was the ultimate goal.

Don’t sell ink on paper

Creative expert and agency principal, Kit Hinrichs, Principal and Creative Director, Studio-Hinrichs, presented a keynote that clearly pushed the audience out of their comfort zone. Starting off admonishing the audience, “Don’t sell ink on paper,” Hinrichs made several key points about marketing to creative agencies:

• Offer something different – promote the bigger picture and your place in it
• Sell the benefits, not the process
• Don’t deliver a 24-page, slick print promotion with images of paper coming off a press
• Build a campaign – what makes your operation/location special?
• Educate your client, don’t put them to sleep – an equipment list isn’t going to do it
• Show your prospects how good you are, don’t tell them
• Please don’t send beautifully printed drek
• Do the unexpected
• Change your client’s point of view
• Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself
• Help your clients pursue their passions
• People judge you not by the job that goes well, but by the job that you pull out of the fire

How can a small/medium-sized printer find someone who will help them design and produce exciting, engaging materials? If you’re going to influence people like Kit, you need to work with someone like him. You need to work with the best to create a piece that will really knock your socks off. If you work with someone who is “up the street” and does OK work, that’s the kind of customer you will get. If you want top tier, your promotions need to be top tier.

An area that all printers should be involved with is design education. Graphics education it is getting more expensive and more complex everyday and print is being left behind. Volunteer at local college university, offer a course, and bring students to your pressroom to help educate them. Education does not have a quick pay off, it’s “paying it forward.” It could be five years or more before you see the effect.

UV battle scars

Scott Gorman, Premier Press, outlined a few of the “battle scars” he and his company acquired during nearly 10 years experience with UV printing. Some of the things he learned:

• When trying to squeeze every bit of life out of UV lamps, remember that the cost of new lamps will be made up quickly with improved productivity. Have a maintenance and cleaning schedule and follow it religiously; the effectiveness of curing goes down dramatically with bulbs and reflectors are dirty.
• Insufficient curing with inter-deck dryers can cause pilling or picking on blankets down the line. To help with dot gain issues on uncoated substrates, cure after applying black ink.
• Plastic UV inks are especially sensitive; use an extender to help control them.
• Find a blanket and ink combination that does not cause memory issues and consider some good old hand washing of the blankets. Network with other printers to find the right combination.
• For hybrid applications, you must have good wash-up procedures in place. And use a UV wash at the end of the wash-up to condition rollers.
• Printing on plastics has its own issues: to get good ink adhesion, know what your dyne level is; order stock carefully so you don’t get a stock with curl so badly that it won’t go through the press; and consider custom blending UV and traditional offset inks for plastics.
• With UV curing, don’t assume if a little is good that a lot is better. You’ll get brittle inks. And over curing can also make your stock brittle causing cracks on folds.

Update on LED curing

An attentive audience got a look at the future when Jonathan Graunke, INX, Patrick Callahan, xpedx/Ryobi, and Stephen Metcalf, Air Motion Systems, presented a “technology update” on LED curing.

Curing UV inks with “light emitting diodes” is the next wave of UV printing technology in development. Not readily available in the US, it is being installed and tested in Japan. According to Metcalf, the technology can be used in production although standards are being developed for inks and consumables.

Because LED lamps run so much cooler, there are many advantages. The LED systems run at about 80 degrees – around room temperature – and use about 75% less power. The lamps contain no mercury and because they don’t generate ozone, no exhaust ducting is necessary. LED lamps have a considerably longer life expectancy, in some cases as long as 50,000 hours, although the technology really hasn’t been fully tested to know.

Flexo and packaging printers who print on films and plastics will want to consider LED technology because the temperatures generated will cause less shrinkage and distortion.

Who are likely to be the early adopters? Technology leaders who want a way to reach out to customers with a new message or specialty printers who can generate a clear return on investment will be the first out the door. Companies that are already making money with current UV technology or those running – or want to run – a hybrid UV process are not good candidates. And because the technology is not food-certified, some packaging printers will want to take a closer look.

Benefits of PrintUV 2010

The 150+ attendees of PrintUV 2010 will probably tell you that the best thing about the event was the networking. At breakfast, during lunch, between sessions, and over beer in the evening, ideas and advice flowed freely. While some of the companies are competitors outside the event, dealing with common problems brought them together and solutions were willingly shared.

Intimate events focused on a specific technology might be better described as symposia. In fact, “symposium” is probably the perfect word; according to Wikipedia:

Symposium originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means “to drink together”) but has since come to refer to a conference characterized by an openly discursive format.

The advice everyone left with was this: never have a comfort zone, never be complacent, always be excited!

Good advice!

Here’s what Sabine Lenz, founder of PaperSpecs, had to say:

“This is a sham,” Cynthia was up in arms, “A friend told me that there actually might not be any FSC-certified pulp in the FSC-certified paper that I buy! Then what about recycled pulp and … what is all this talk about auditing and … how can I trust anybody anymore?”

Okay, I never said eco-certification was easy, but Cynthia’s friend definitely didn’t do the best job at explaining the ins and outs. So let me try.

FSC, and SFI for that matter, both certify forests to ensure they are managed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. Yes, they have differing standards, but I’ll write about this aspect in the coming weeks.

For now, let’s just keep it simple and say this: Both FSC and SFI care deeply about our forests and the environment. Their respective labels provide you and me with the assurance that the paper products we’re purchasing come from forests managed to conserve biodiversity and support local communities.

This is what we all have heard for years now. It is a good and noble cause, and we support it.

Where does the pulp come from?
As we agree on this, we can also agree on the fact that the FSC/SFI pulp has to come from certified forests. The certification of the forest as such is the part you and I can easily understand.

An independent auditor (both SFI and FSC work with third-party auditing companies) goes out to the forest that wants to be certified and makes sure it fulfills all the criteria required by the certification model.

This doesn’t just include visiting the actual forest, but also includes aspects like: making sure the forest workers are skilled; ensuring that no pesticides are used in managing the forest or that no genetically modified trees are planted – the standards are extensive.

Once the trees are ripe (fully grown), they are harvested and brought to a certified pulp mill.

NOTE: There are only around 40 FSC-certified pulp mills in North America producing somewhere between one and three million tons of certified pulp. Some of these mills produce their own paper from this pulp, but many paper mills in North America are non-integrated (meaning they don’t make their own pulp). Non-integrated mills buy their FSC-certified pulp from those certified pulp mills on a contractual or first-come, first-serve basis.

How is the pulp handled?
If we all wanted to buy 100 percent certified papers tomorrow, there just would not be enough pulp available to keep up with the demand. So, the most common logos we see today are those of “mixed sources,” papers that contain a certain percentage of certified pulp. Are you still with me?

The original idea – and a logical one at that – was to ask the mills to ensure that the certified pulp was stored separately from the rest of the mill’s pulp and was used in the papermaking process separately and … But if you have ever been at a paper mill, this poses quite a challenge.

For one, a paper machines run 24/7 (except the yearly downtime for maintenance), so asking a mill to stop and start the machine to make certified paper is an economic impediment.

Volume Sharing
Over the years, in an attempt to make the production of certified papers economically viable, FSC and SFI have adopted a “volume credit” system. A confusing term to be sure. I prefer “average percentage.” Let me explain with an example.

A mill produces 100 tons of paper a year. It buys 10 percent of the pulp needed from a certified pulp mill. In order to not have to interrupt its workflow, the mill and certifying body agree that this 10 percent can be called out on specific paper lines the mill produces. In our case, theoretically 100 percent of the mill’s paper could be called out as 10 percent FSC /SFI certified.

So far this all makes sense right?

Let’s take it one step further and say the mill wants to offer a specific paper line with a higher certified percentage to its customers – Brand XYZ is 20 percent certified. Now the mill can only label 50 percent of the papers it produces as 20 percent certified.

The Audit
The certifying body keeps a close eye on its mill clients and conducts yearly audits, which include lots of paperwork including checking invoices for certified pulp received to ensure that a mill doesn’t market or claim to have more certified papers than the percentage of certified pulp that it purchased allows it to claim.

This again is to assure you and me that we get what we pay for.

Does this mean that theoretically the specific paper you and I buy does not contain the full 30 percent FSC / SFI pulp it claims? Sorry, but yes.

And by the way, the same “average percentage” principle applies to the recycled content claims made by pulp and/or paper manufacturers.

The bottom line is that we are “paying” for the overall efforts a mill makes to be sustainable and offer certified papers, thus providing our forest managers the incentive to certify, while staying economically viable.

About PaperSpecs

Finding the most accurate information on paper availability, green certifications and trends like digital paper options is a challenge for designers, print buyers and paper purchasers worldwide.

This reality inspired Sabine Lenz, designer and author, to create PaperSpecs, the first independent and comprehensive Web-based paper selection tool. The search mechanism is specifically designed to help paper specifiers easily and quickly find the paper that meets their project’s sustainability goals, creative vision and process requirements.

PaperSpecs currently features more than 4,300 papers from over 70 mills with a staff dedicated to updating the specifications daily. PaperSpecs members have access to this powerful database as well as the ability to order sample sheets and the latest swatchbooks and mill promotions.

Take a virtual tour of this convenient, current and comprehensive online paper selection tool to see how you can find the perfect paper in less than 60 seconds.

Washington DC Ward 3 Council member Mary M. Cheh printed that disclaimer on her constituent newsletters after an opponent took a jab at her for not practicing what she preached. The council had imposed “extreme” green measures on small businesses, according to D.C. Republican Committee Chairman Bob Kabel and Executive Director Paul Craney.

What would the disclaimer look like if she had used your printing services?

“Electronic mail … could replace 25% of snail mail by 2000” (TIME Magazine, 1998)

“E-mail is disrupting postal services. The volume of personal communication that is done by letter is dropping precipitously, leaving postal services with magazines, bills and junk mail.” (Clayton Christensen, “The Innovator’s Solution”, 2003)

“The number of letters sent in individual pieces is dropping at an accelerating rate. Any grade school kid knows why: Nobody sends letters anymore; everybody uses e-mail.” (Rick Geddes, “Thinking Outside of the Mailbox,” The Washington Post, August 29, 200)

(From Is There a Future for Mail? Presented to the Postal Rate Commission, 2/22/06, by Luis Jimenez, SVP and Chief Strategy Officer, Pitney Bowes)

For the last 20+ years people have been expecting digital delivery of personal and promotional messages to be a challenge to the “monopoly” held by paper mail, but none of them reckoned with the recession that hit us in the middle of 2008.

USPS Mail Volumes and Delivery Points

This chart is taken from the Postal Service’s 2009 Annual Report, and it shows a drop of about 17% of mail volume over the last 5 years, while the number of delivery points – homes, businesses, PO Boxes – increased by 4%. Mail volume is expected to drop to 150 billion pieces by 2020. The remaining volume is likely to have a much higher percentage of promotional mail and a decreasing amount of First Class mail.

How is the Postal Service dealing with these changes? The USPS is renewing plans to end Saturday delivery and to ask for an “emergency” rate increase. Other strategies include closing post offices and increasing postal stations in retail stores, such as groceries, big box stores, and pharmacies; extending the delivery standards from 1-to-3 days to 2-to-5 days for First Class mail; or adding hybrid mail services.

Death Spiral?

More and more financial institutions are pressuring their customers to choose online banking and digital statements; ostensibly to “save trees,” but in realty, to cut the cost of producing and mailing statements and managing paper payments. Advertising and promotional messages are continuing to move online as search engines and other online advertising is becoming more and more targeted. And increased postage is simply causing businesses to cut back on direct mail because of cost. As the USPS continues to cut back on services and increase postal rates, electronic alternatives continue to grow.

Hybrid Mail Services

Hybrid mail is a process that turns an electronic message into a physical mail piece that is this printed and distributed through a traditional postal service. By 2004, 63 countries offered a form of hybrid mail, according to the Universal Postal Union, representing 30% of all posts. More than 2 billion pieces of mail were produced and distributed using a hybrid mail system.

Hybrid mail services are outgoing electronic-to-print systems; Click2Mail is a commercial hybrid mail solution.

Click2Mail Workflow Process

Digital Mail Room Services

A “reverse hybrid mail” system, digital mail room services, accepts printed mail and converts it into electronic mail. There are systems designed for enterprise mailing centers, such as those offered by Océ Business Services – which recently launched its Océ Digital Mail – or MailSurity, a company that has provided digital mail centers for almost a decade.

MailSurity Workflow

Digital mail services for consumers and small businesses are available from Earth Class Mail. All mail is delivered to Earth Class Mail, the containers (envelopes/boxes) are scanned and the physical pieces are stored. The recipient has the option, upon receipt of the image, to determine whether the physical piece should be opened and scanned, delivered without scanning, or destroyed. The system drastically cuts down on the amount of physical mail that is delivered to the final recipient.

Digital Postal Services

A service that combines street addresses with email addresses, Zumbox, offers a completely digital alternative to paper mail with the benefit to mailers of using existing postal addresses. One of the key challenges to direct marketers is the dearth of good quality email address lists. Zumbox has converted all the street addresses – more than 150 million – to “Zumboxes,” which are essentially private email boxes. The recipient enters their street address and views facsimiles of the envelope and contents on the screen, exactly as they would look if delivered on paper.

Zumbox Process

Conclusion

Increasing costs and expanded electronic alternatives will continue to challenge the USPS and increasing postage will challenge mailers. Print and marketing service providers have the opportunity to add value to print and keep it in the delivery stream. Careful management of mailing lists will reduce distribution to customers and prospects that are not good targets for promotional messages.

A balance between online and offline campaign elements will encourage mailers to use all the alternatives available, to use direct mail when appropriate and electronic distribution as an alternative. Use all the communication systems to reach prospective buyers with the right message at the right time for the right product at the right price – through the right distribution channel.

But what about corrugated boxes? Why do they have to be tossed out after just one use?

Dennis Salazar, President, and Lenora Salazar, Vice President, of Salazar Packaging asked each other the same question. Let’s let Dennis tell the story.

It was such a sore spot for us that boxes are thrown out because of the way they look, even though they still have plenty of life in them. In most cases the interior is very clean and we thought it would be great if you could just turn the box inside out.

We now both laugh about it, but we actually solved the problem while we were driving down the expressway chatting. I just couldn’t seem to overcome a couple of problems and we started talking about it.

The solution was so simple. I had been struggling for months trying to find a way to reuse the glue flap and Lenora said, “Don’t reuse it, just add a second one.” That was the answer!

We did a lot of testing to find the right combination of perforation and board thickness. By having two glue tabs we avoided weakening the corner with the perf.

Early prototypes were hand made and once the designs were fine-tuned we tested them in an actual production setting. There is a lot more testing and prototyping than most people think about.

For instance, we originally put the instructions for reuse on the bottom of the box. Then we found that’s more than likely where they’re going to be covered with tape or scuffed away. So now we put them on the inside minor flap. When the box is cut open, the instructions are clean, easy to read, and right in front of the user.

We wanted to make the box as easy to reuse as possible. Now, in just seconds, you can actually turn a box inside out and use it again.

Watch this video to see how it works.

Learn more about Salazar’s patent-pending reusable Globe Guard boxes here.

Here’s what Sabine Lenz, founder of PaperSpecs, said:

As the comments began popping up on the screen during our recent Alternative Papers Webinar, we wondered if a virtual fistfight was about to take place.

It was apparent that attendees were passionate about buying sustainable paper. It was also apparent that we needed to address the questions in more depth than the limited online time allowed. We asked two industry experts to help us do exactly that.

Wendy Jedlicka, president of Jedlicka Design Ltd. and author of Packaging Sustainability, along with Peter Nowack, founder of PrintLeadership, provided their input on questions from the attendees. Their answers are listed separately, one after the other, but please note that they are not part of a conversation between the two.

Thank you to PaperSpecs for letting us reprint this Q&A.

Q: How do you justify the use of plastics from an environmental perspective? The fact that you can incinerate them or landfill them is not a “green” plus. To use this as a green argument seems to be disingenuous and a greenwash.

PN: This one was my question, I believe, and I stand by my sentiment that to call items that have to be landfilled or incinerated “green” is intentional deception (or the message of one who has no idea what “green” is.)

WJ: Incineration is not a plus for sure – even if you’re burning leaves. But it depends on what the plastic paper is being used for. As a mindless replacement, it’s a bad choice; but when you need water resistance, it could have benefits over laminated wood pulp (energy savings, virgin wood pulp, durability [more use-time per unit], etc.).

Q: Are digital synthetics recyclable? Are there environmental concerns with the production of this paper?

PN: I cannot answer specifically – I don’t know the manufacturing process – but if the substrate is PVC, then somewhere in the manufacturing process there is a risk associated with dioxins and PCBs and a whole host of other nasty things. I am attaching a Greenpeace paper on PVC production, which though a decade old, is still germane. When we consider environmental risk, we need to consider upstream as well as downstream impacts. In a global marketplace, the upstream impacts can take place far away from the manufacturing location of the final product.

WJ: Some are in a closed-loop system. But what are we calling recycling? True recycling like glass, or downcycling like type 7 into plastic lumber?

Q: How can you state “indefinite recyclability”? They are NOT recyclable.

PN: The use of the term “indefinite recyclability” is, in the best of cases, doublespeak – and in this case totally inaccurate. If I heard the speaker correctly, he was talking about how long this stuff lasts, so it doesn’t have to be “recycled” (more accurately, “disposed of) for a long time – an indefinite time. This has nothing to do with recyclability.

WJ: Natural pulp fiber is not “indefinitely recyclable.” It can make six trips or so before becoming too broken to use.

Q: Is there a risk of Synthetics contaminating the recycled paper stream?

PN: There is always a risk of contaminating the recycled paper stream, and it happens all the time. (I have heard of instances where heavy machine parts are put into bundles of recycled cardboard to increase the weight and the corresponding revenue.) If non-recyclable fiber is not properly separated from recyclable material, it will likely result in increased waste-to-landfill.

WJ: Absolutely. But for some recyclers it doesn’t matter all that much. Many are now taking milk cartons – lovely white board sandwiched between layers of PE, requiring no deinking as ink never actually touched the board. The new repulpers simply grind the feederstock small enough to release the white pulp. The PE laminate with the ink stuck to it simply floats away. Unfortunately then that PE/ink combo becomes part of the toxic sludge left over.

Q: How do you avoid synthetics contaminating the paper-recycling stream?

PN: Don’t use them.

WJ: Don’t call it recyclable. OR, make it so it easily disintegrates in the pulper. Though it will still become part of the toxic sludge left over.

Q: You mentioned that some of the Synthetics are great for outdoor promos of 30-60 days etc., yet given that they are not recyclable (yet) or are from synthetic, nonrenewable materials, I would encourage everyone to think beyond that time frame to look at the big picture. Some of these synthetics may in fact live way beyond their intended usage, as you say, almost “indefinitely” and still end up in the waste-stream without biodegrading. We need to consider the entire life cycle: sourcing, manufacturing and end-of-life. Yes, these products can be used a long time and then can be thrown away, but really, where is “away?”

PN: Good point. We have pretty much run out of new “away” places and are building on top of our old “aways” – with not terribly great results (methane seepage is not a lot of fun).

WJ: “We need to consider the entire life cycle: sourcing, manufacturing and end-of-life.” This is completely true, but functionality is also part of this equation. What function is the “paper” performing? You have to weigh the physical thing against its intended purpose. You can’t just weigh variables in a vacuum.

Q: Do Synthetics have a life span?

PN: There is a physical-property life span, and a much shorter “useful life” span. When the promotion is over, the printed piece is no longer useful – that happens very quickly in this day of disposable ideas. Better to print on something that can be easily recycled.

WJ: Everything has a life span.

Q: Could recycling or manufacturing legislation affect synthetic paper products?

PN: It could. Germany insists that manufacturers take total life-cycle responsibility for their products in that country. But in this country, don’t hold your breath.

Q: Has a lifecycle analysis been performed on synthetic papers; and if so, are the results available?

WJ: Some studies have been done on these papers, but from what I’ve seen so far, they are sponsored by the manufacturers. Some good third-party investigation would be in order.

Q: Is there dependency on foreign oil in its production?

PN: Interesting question, but it really doesn’t matter if it is foreign or domestic – it is still hydrocarbon, with all of the greenhouse gas, VOC and toxicity problems of hydrocarbon production. Oil is not healthy for printers and other living things.

WJ: Depends on the paper, and where it’s made. Plus what “foreign” entity are you worried about? In the United States, we get only about 18 percent of our oil from the Middle East. I’d be just as worried about our local foreign oil coming from Canada’s oils sands. Plus how is the “paper” made? Using alternative energy or mountain-topped coal?

Q: What is the actual recovery rate for Synthetics? Paper is at 57 percent.

WJ: Effectively zero.

Q: How can PVC substrates be incinerated safely?

PN: Lots of things can be safely incinerated (if appropriate exhaust scrubbing technology is employed), but it takes a lot of fuel to get rid of the stuff we don’t want – unless the heat from incineration is used to generate energy, getting rid of waste is itself a wasteful process. And, there is no guarantee that the incineration will be done in a place that employs appropriate technology. A lot of our waste gets shipped offshore – who knows what technology (if any) is employed in such places.

WJ: They can’t. PVC is a product that should never have been produced period.

Q: Paper accounts for 25 percent of landfill waste. So how does using a synthetic substrate ease the burden since it’s not easily recyclable or burned safely?

WJ: It eases the burden on virgin tree harvesting, not landfill or incineration.

Q: What do you mean by “inert” and “benign?”

PN: See the Greenpeace document for a discussion of what can happen when PVCs are landfilled. And, while the finished sheet seems relatively inert and benign, remember to consider the upstream impacts associated with PVC production. My question to the manufacturer is WHAT ASSURANCE CAN YOU PROVIDE ABOUT ANY OF YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS?

WJ: Inert and Benign are very specific. It doesn’t readily bioaccumulate. Example: Glass is inert.

Q: There are “plastic” boxes sometimes used for things like lettuce in the grocery store that are actually made from corn. Do you know if bio-products like that have been tried to create products w/similar water proof, strength, etc. qualities like these synthetics have?

WJ: Sort of. PLA films are in production, but so far work best as structural films (Vacuum-formed clear boxes for fruit) or clear folding cartons. The thinner films (about the same weight as the paper) they’ve used for window films (cake boxes), but this is too fragile for a whole sheet of paper. Even thinner films for laminates.

Q: How many times can Synthetics be recycled?

PN: Well if a product must be incinerated or landfilled, then the answer is ZERO.

WJ: What is your definition of recycled? Which synthetic?

Q: Are manufacturers doing anything specific to work with municipal recycling systems?

PN: Recycling is a market-based activity. When there is a market for recycled something, AND the technology to recycle it is available and not prohibitively expensive, AND the costs of sorting and transporting the material to the recycling facility are not prohibitively expensive, AND there is sufficient material in the waste stream to support an ongoing enterprise, then that something has some possibility of being recycled. If not, it is just disposed of.

WJ: Don’t know, but unless they want to start another PLA Bottle moratorium counter action again, they better have this on the front burner.

About PaperSpecs

Finding the most accurate information on paper availability, green certifications and trends like digital paper options is a challenge for designers, print buyers and paper purchasers worldwide.

This reality inspired Sabine Lenz, designer and author, to create PaperSpecs, the first independent and comprehensive Web-based paper selection tool. The search mechanism is specifically designed to help paper specifiers easily and quickly find the paper that meets their project’s sustainability goals, creative vision and process requirements.

PaperSpecs currently features more than 4,300 papers from over 70 mills with a staff dedicated to updating the specifications daily. PaperSpecs members have access to this powerful database as well as the ability to order sample sheets and the latest swatchbooks and mill promotions.

Take a virtual tour of this convenient, current and comprehensive online paper selection tool to see how you can find the perfect paper in less than 60 seconds.

Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) sells printing and imaging products and solutions in more than 150 countries and reported $3.9 billion in revenue in 2009. By designing with the environment in mind, Lexmark engineers products and packaging to reduce impacts in production and chooses materials with the widest range of opportunities for recovery and reuse.

Close the Loop is a resource recovery company, founded in late 2000 in Australia. The primary purpose of the company is to give OEM manufacturers of printing equipment a way to collect consumables and recycle them in a responsible fashion. Close the Loop uses patented processes to recover the plastic, ink, and toner in inkjet and toner cartridges to bring the materials back into the manufacturing process or use them as raw materials for new products.

We spoke with John Gagel, Manager of Sustainable Practices at Lexmark, and Jim Tocash, President of Close the Loop, about their partnership recycling plastic and ink from Lexmark inkjet cartridges.

“When you look at design for environment, you work with your suppliers at the very beginning of the design phase to consider the end of life handling,” said John. “We want the materials we use to make our products to have as small an impact as possible, at the same time we look for materials that give us the most opportunities for application at the end.”

An inkjet cartridge is actually made up of a number of materials: plastic, metal, ink, and foam. Because Close the Loop collects a lot of ink, the company wanted to find ways to use that ink in new ways.

Why a pen? There is a natural connection between the original form of putting an image on a page – pen and ink – and putting an image on a sheet of paper with an inkjet printer. It’s an easy connection for an imaging company! “The pen is a great way to show consumers what happens when they recycle their inkjet cartridges,” said Jim. “It shows that we can turn them into something of value.” Watch the following video to see how the pen came about.

Turning inkjet cartridges into pens is not a quick process; it took more than 18 months to bring the pen to the point where it could be commercialized. Sometime around the middle of 2010 you will find these on retail shelves and you’ll be able to write with a pen made of recycled plastic and filled with recycled ink.

Because Lexmark has a goal of “zero waste to landfill” they also collect and reuse toner as an additive for concrete. And the company is researching using the captured and recycled plastics in their own products in a true “cradle to cradle” system.

Doreen Monteleone

Established in 1990 and named for environmental pioneer and researcher Dr. William Schaeffer (1922-2003), the Schaeffer Award honors an individual who has made significant contributions towards environmentally sound practices in the printing industry. Dr. Schaeffer was widely known and respected for his ongoing environmental advocacy and leadership in the graphic communications industry.

The William D. Schaeffer Environmental Award is presented annually at the National Environmental Health and Safety (NEHS) Conference; this year to be held March 15-17 in Indianapolis IN.

There are 15 events currently on the list, ranging from “Understanding FSC” and “Water Footprinting & Availability Risk Management” to “FUSE: Design & Culture” and “HOW Design Conference.” Throw in a couple on packaging and sustainability management and you’ve got a wide range to choose from.

This list will keep you busy until summer vacation! But don’t worry, I’ll have plenty more lined up for you by then!