Here you will find blogs from Digital Dots and Verdigris covering technology and sustainability advances in the graphics industry over the last 25 years.
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Auto Paper Stretch Compensation might not sound desperately exciting, but it can save a lot of waste and cost, especially for packaging production. This new technology from Heidelberg will be shown at drupa next year and although Auto Paper Stretch Compensation isn’t positioned in ecological terms it should … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner An ongoing European initiative linked to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) directive could spell the end of gravure printing in Europe. REACH requires that manufacturers and importers collect data on the characteristics of the chemicals they use, to be sure they can be safely … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner There are many ways printers and publishers can improve staff productivity, some more expensive than others. But if you’ve already exhausted the possibilities of dress down Fridays and booze-it-up Wednesdays, try opening the windows and see if it makes a difference to how well people do their jobs. … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner One of the biggest threats to the spread of digital printing methods is concern for the print’s recyclability. In part this is due to scaremongering by vested interests, but printed matter must be deinked if it is to be recycled and some digital printing methods produce prints that … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Awards are an excellent way of communicating a company’s prowess to customers and prospects. They can be used to celebrate business performance and product quality, and because they are pretty simple to understand, they are a convenient tool for marketers to use. But awards have to be rigorous … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Printers and publishers and everyone in their supply chains have a new version of ISO14001 to grapple with. This is one of the world’s leading standard for Environmental Management Systems and it’s being adopted by all types of organisations. The rationale for going ISO 14001-2015 is simple: control … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner We recently came across an interesting site that uses market data to rate the environmental sustainability of leading corporations. We had a look for the best known names in the graphic arts, and were pleased to find that all the founder members of the Verdigris project are on … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) is a suite of the world’s most influential indicators for corporate sustainability. They are considered the gold standard for sustainability and they are strict, with external audits, so they matter. Volkswagen has just been dumped because of its cheating on emissions tests, … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner We are very good at recycling in the graphics industry: paper and aluminium are widely returned to the supply chain to be used as raw materials in other products. And manufacturers such as Ricoh and HP have programmes in place to reuse components in printing devices. But these … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner For years the graphics industry has been improving its environmental footprint, but not shouting about it much. Heidelberg’s introduction of LED drying technology for the European market is a case in point. LED drying of UV inks is an energy saver in more ways than one. LED technology … Read more