Green Printing Results Report Debuts at 2012 Publicity Week, Spotlighting Environmental, Cost and Social Gains

On November 5, a sector meeting took place in the second-floor multi-function conference hall of the General Administration of Press and Publication. The Printing and Distribution Management Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Science and Technology Standards Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection jointly held the 2012 Green Printing Publicity Week and announced the launch of that year's Green Printing Publicity Week.

The event was organized into five major segments. The opening segment focused on the widely anticipated Report on the Results of Implementing Green Printing, presented by Wang Yanbin of the Printing and Distribution Management Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication. His remarks reviewed changes brought by the advancement of green printing from several perspectives.

First, environmental performance has improved since green printing was introduced. Printing companies that use eco-friendly materials have lowered their discharge of the “three wastes.” According to the information cited, volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions have fallen by about 1.5% annually. Although printing is not a major source of waste gas emissions, it has played a positive leading role across industries, which can help the PM2.5 levels of public concern move in a better direction.

Second, companies have improved economic returns while saving costs. Research data from the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication show that as China's printing industry as a whole adopts environmental measures such as saving electricity, water, ink and paper, the combined cost of energy use and printing material loss drops by about RMB 500 million each year. In a post-meeting conversation with an entrepreneur, the author learned that green printing did not raise his company's costs; as the financial crisis continued to spread, the company's export revenue was actually higher than before. Green printing therefore appears to offer companies not only a stronger development path but also broader business opportunities.

Third, printing companies have fulfilled social responsibility and delivered public benefits. Statistics from 23 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) show that more than 1,000 titles and 200 million copies of autumn primary and secondary school textbooks in 2012 used green printing. Based on this, it is estimated that more than half of the country's primary and secondary school students—over 96 million—have at least one green-printed textbook each. According to the author, green-printed textbooks now published carry the green printing logo, giving students a more intuitive understanding of green printing and helping cultivate environmental awareness from an early age. In addition, by upgrading process equipment, reducing environmental noise and cutting dust emissions, printing companies have improved the working environment for nearly one million printing practitioners.

Fourth, green printing has helped adjust the industrial structure and pushed printing companies to strengthen their technical capabilities. Nationwide, 60% of printing enterprises above designated size have adopted computer-to-plate (CTP) technology and digital workflows, significantly raising the industry's digitalization level. With CTP, printing companies' comprehensive environmental protection costs have decreased by about 10%, plate-making efficiency has risen fivefold, and plate-making quality has become more consistent. In the author's view, only with truly strong technology can printing enterprises remain invincible in the global development tide and gain greater strength to respond to “anti-dumping.”

Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362018.html