Print automation presents a variety of benefits for marketers in creating more efficient, cost-effective print materials. But this increased efficiency and overall reduction of waste also means print automation can help brands enhance their sustainability efforts and take a more eco-friendly approach to print.
With the right print automation solution, brands can reduce the amount of energy necessary to fuel print production and create more efficient print workflows to help enhance productivity.
Quantum Group’s Vice President of Manufacturing Operations Bob Quirk and Supply Chain Manager Paul Fillmore discuss the role print automation plays in creating a smarter, more strategic use of resources in service of a more sustainable approach to print.
How does print automation's efficiency feed into a more strategic use of resources, be it paper or ink?
Bob: The whole automation process is designed to reduce waste, whether it’s paper or other materials. Another way print automation offers increased efficiency and waste reductions is in the scheduling of jobs and the ability to combine similar print jobs using different outputs to make better use of materials, optimize energy usage and costs, and create a smarter overall workflow.
For example, the ability to consolidate multiple jobs that are using the same paper helps us make better use of energy and materials, and this also helps us reduce downtime as well.
Paul: Yeah, I think print automation sprays all fields when it comes to sustainability — energy savings, savings of all consumables, etc. Automation lends itself to these ends via the process itself. I think the best way to talk about how print automation and sustainability is through our use of Landa Nanographic Printing®.
Comparison of waste from 1,000 jobs printed on offset presses with 1,000 jobs printed on a Landa digital press.
The total waste reduction Landa provides is pretty staggering. At a recent drupa conference, Landa demonstrated the amount of paper waste from 1,000 offset print jobs and the amount of waste from 1,000 Landa jobs. The waste from the offset jobs filled this little room Landa built…the visual of that is pretty powerful.
Landa also uses water-based inks, which is important to reducing the use of VOCs.
The ability to use water-based inks or those without VOCs plays a pretty big role in reducing your carbon footprint, right?
Bob: Yes. Choosing inks or other print materials that don’t use VOCs definitely helps reduce your carbon footprint. The fact that our Landa uses water-based inks or digital inks that require much less water also helps you reduce your carbon footprint — Landa’s use of water-based inks can make your carbon footprint in the types of materials you choose essentially zero.
Does the ability to monitor jobs or processes in real time help make better use of resources, thus increasing print sustainability?
Bob: The monitoring aspect with digital print is more about validating that everything is working the way it should — the right materials are being used, the job is being printed as efficiently as possible, there’s no wasted energy or consumables, things like that. What’s a little different is the way in which digital print equipment is beginning to use AI to make the process even more efficient and flexible.
With these AI integrations, you can now make changes without operator intervention to make production more flexible and optimize the use of resources. Again, sustainability through print automation is really about reducing downtime and being smarter about material and energy usage, and it looks like AI will play a role in this.
As someone who is a real process geek, this is cool stuff.
Speaking of AI, what does the future of print automation and sustainable print look like? Are there new technologies on the horizon that we should know about?
Paul: I think one of the big advancements I’m seeing is a more software-based approach to digital print — using a software as a service approach to get even more precise with the use of materials and energy. If the overarching message here is waste reduction, this software-based approach is going to make it possible to be even smarter about material use and energy use, and it’s going to help us print more jobs in less time to further reduce downtime.
Quantum’s experience and expertise in print automation can help you increase print efficiency and reduce waste en route to creating a more sustainable print model. As a strategic print partner, we’re ready to help you elevate your next print project. Learn more about our print automation solutions.
