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 As members of an ISO technical committee we are not allowed to share detailed data on standards uptake. However we can share the fact that response to ISO 16759 for quantifying and calculating the carbon footprint of print media has been astonishing and far beyond our expectations. Strong … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner We recently came across a US industry association representing 350 printers on the midAtlantic coast, campaigning with much the same goals as the Verdigris project. The Printing & Graphics Association MidAtlantic (PGAMA) “Print Saves Trees” campaign takes as its starting point the debunking of the idea that people … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner For those of us who find the concept of patience anathema, progress on sustainability is taking too long. However that sustainability takes time is the reality and is probably a reflection of how hard it is for businesses to shift their thinking. Sustainability progress depends on a cultural … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Dear Sir or Madam, or Dear Laurel the emails from PR companies begin. Then follows a boast of one kind or another. It could be an installation story, a case study, some new technology or information, news about presence at a trade show, or a positive environmental achievement. … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner One of the best television programmes around is a surprising and pretty shocking US offering, Breaking Bad. In one of the programme’s opening scenes the protagonist, a disappointed and downtrodden chemistry teacher, asks his students what chemistry is all about. The answer he gets is, rather obviously, “chemicals”. … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner We get lots of enquiries about the value of standards, and some are easier to answer than others. In the case of environmental management standards a common question is the difference between the Eco Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS) and ISO 14001 (Environmental management systems). There is more … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Preaching to the converted has always seemed a little self-indulgent. And since the converted already agree with you (mostly), what’s the point? In the printing and publishing industries we unfortunately have a fragmented voice, when it comes to teaching print media’s sustainability to markets and consumers. Teaching’s too … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Labels and packaging are amongst the most vibrant of print sectors, one of the few where the Internet is unable to cannibalise the business. Digital printing technologies are creeping into label and packaging printing, invading traditional domains and creating all sorts of new opportunities. Labels are a growth … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Trees are obviously vital to the printing and publishing industries, but they could well soon be vital in rather unexpected ways. The use of wood as a biomaterial beyond the conventional, is starting to change. For printers and publishers this has some interesting possibilities, ranging from furniture that … Read more
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Preparing for LabelExpo, the next big trade show in the graphic arts, one wonders when there will be a label expo that is all about certification labels, especially environmental ones. There are just so many of the blighters. It seems their proliferation these days is mostly about money … Read more