Taking the P**s

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner The idea of using rubbish to create energy goes back to the first bonfire, but only a handful of companies in the graphic arts industries seem to be paying much heed to using biomass. Toppan Printing has developed a laminated packaging material that contains around 10% of biomass … Read more

Mercury Rising

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner The 13th April is an important deadline. It’s the day when a key exemption in the European Union (EU)’s Regulation on Hazardous Substance II (RoHS II) no longer applies. The ramifications for the graphic arts industry worldwide could be serious, eventually. RoHS II “lays down rules on the … Read more

All Wrapped Up

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Packaging is necessary for pretty much all supply chains. It protects and preserves goods, makes them easier to handle and is a way of tempting buyers to make a purchase. Packaging’s also an effective vehicle for content and ingredient information, as well as regulatory compliance data. This includes … Read more

Carlsberg Reaching More of Those Parts

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner A year or so ago the Carlsberg Circular Community (CCC) announced a project to develop next generation packaging materials optimised for recycling and reuse. The CCC is Carlsberg plus a collection of its global suppliers and they have now announced that they are working on a biodegradable and … Read more

Has Asia Pulp & Paper Turned a Page?

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Is it time to shake the hand of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and forgive its past sins? The Rainforest Alliance recently published an audit report confirming that APP is largely living up to the Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) it published in February 2013. At least as far … Read more

Processless Plates On the Up

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner 2014 was a watershed year for computer-to-plate (CtP) production: processless platesetting shifted up a gear, with all three major manufacturers making substantial headway in the market. Processless plates make economic and environmental sense, because you simply image the plate and mount it on press. Simple. There are no … Read more

SGP Spreading the Sustainability Word

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner It’s the little everyday things that add up to potentially negative environmental impacts. One of the world’s most fundamentally important activities is buying and selling goods, commodities and services. It keeps us all busy and of course drives economies. Printing and communications technologies are as vital for business … Read more

Deinking Advances

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner At the latest ISO TC130 standards meeting, Working Group 11 (WG11) took a big step forward. WG11 is responsible for standards relating to the environmental impact of graphics technology and has been working on the development of a deinking standard. This is intended to encourage more people to … Read more

Prince Charles and Abating Climate Change

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner When you ask people if they think it’s important to tackle climate change, most agree that it is. If you then ask them who should be responsible for fixing our environmental mess, you can expect a general railing against big business in league with evil politicians who care … Read more

Boxing Clever

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner We recently had the privilege to speak at the Hong Kong Printers’ Federation Summit on the benefits of standards. One of the discussion points was the need for more environmental innovation within printing companies. A member of the audience gave us a great example of just the sorts … Read more