digitaldots.info

Digital Dots is an independent graphic arts research group specialising in digital prepress, printing and publishing technologies. The company is a collection of like-minded consultants and professional journalists with decades of experience working in the graphic arts industry. We publish a range of articles and reports and we also manage The Verdigris Project.

Emissions reductions too often fudged

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner The New Climate Institute recently published its Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2022. The report assesses “the transparence and integrity of companies’ emission reduction and net-zero targets”. It’s pretty dry reading. It’s findings mostly they remind us of two important facts. First of all there can be no room for … Read more

The changing face of fashion

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner It’s amazing how many options Print Service Providers have when it comes to business diversification. But perhaps the most risky and revolutionary is the move into bespoke apparel manufacturing. It’s risky because there is no hard evidence that consumers are willing to move en mass away from an environmentally … Read more

Is paper doomed?

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner A belated welcome to 2022 and the year when technology makes possible the synthesising of paper using bacteria and carbon emissions. Not a joke. A company called LanzaTech has announced a deal with IndiTex, one of the world’s clothing giants, to develop a polyester fibre based on bugs and … Read more

Is Print on Demand Fashion a More Sustainable Model?

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Digital textile production technology developers Kornit Digital has recently published its 2020 Impact and Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Report. It finds that the fashion business overproduces by about 30% and is responsible for 20% of global waste water per year. This makes the fashion and textile industries amongst … Read more

Kodak’s Sustainability Report

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner A few years ago, it was tempting to write Kodak off as a spent force. And yet the 130 year old company is still here and its 4300 employees are collectively still making a difference. Not all of those people contribute directly to the graphics industry but amongst the … Read more

Sustainability begins at home

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Sustainability is entering business peoples’ consciousnesses in such a way that they actually invest in it. The environment is slowly rising up the agendas of print service providers and suppliers alike, but it has to be said that the graphics industry has tended more to the green washing than … Read more

Climate change realities from Epson

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Epson, the Japanese developer and manufacturer of wide format digital printers and other electronic kit, has recently published the results of a global survey, The Climate Reality Barometer survey. It highlights some worrying findings. https://global.epson.com/newsroom/2021/news_20210910.html Epson’s work captures the views and perceptions of 15,264 consumers in Asia, Europe, North and … Read more

Print associations driving environmental improvements

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Industry associations have a major part to play in driving standardisation and environmental impact improvement. It’s not an easy role to play, given that sustainability comes in many shapes and sizes, just as printing and publishing companies do. Some associations, such as FOGRA in Germany are incredibly active and … Read more

Designed to be Sustainable

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The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner The ideas behind the Circular Economy aren’t much talked about in the grass roots printing business, but some of the principles are starting to creep into conversations. Three main objectives underpin a circular economy: design products to eliminate waste and pollution; keep products and materials in use for as … Read more