Capital Printing Corporation Green rebranding: Better for the Environment, Better for the Client
In 2007, Capital Printing Corporation received its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) certifications. To match its green initiatives, the company worked with Rizco Design, a longtime partner, to rebrand the printer.
This just announced, credited Uk.reuters.com
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan launched a satellite on Friday to monitor greenhouse gases around the world in the hope that the data it gathers will help global efforts to combat climate change.
The satellite, called “Ibuki” or “vitality” in Japanese, will enable scientists to measure densities of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations on the Earth’s surface, including the atmosphere over open seas.
That would compare with just 282 land-based observation sites as of last October, mostly of which are in the United States, Europe and other industrialized regions, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has said.
Japanese officials hope the data will add credence to existing research on greenhouse gases, including reports by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of hundreds of scientists.
“It would contribute to raising certainties in IPCC research that greenhouse gases are increasing,” said Yasushi Tadami, deputy director of research and information at the Environment Ministry’s global environment bureau.
“It will also advance research on the mechanism of carbon cycles.”
Equipped with two sensors, the satellite will track infrared rays from the Earth, which will help calculate the densities of carbon dioxide and methane because these two greenhouse gases absorb the rays at certain wavelengths.
NASA is sponsoring its own Orbiting Carbon Observatory to be launched this year to collect measurements on carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Both satellites come as about 190 countries try to craft a broader climate treaty by December to replace the Kyoto Protocol that binds wealthy nations to emissions targets between 2008 and 2012.
Pira International, Surrey, UK, a third party research firm, was commissioned by the Foil Stamping & Embossing Association (FSEA) to conduct the study and produce the findings, which have been compiled in a 14-page study.
To conduct the study, foil stamped paper/board was utilized from both the more traditional hot foil stamping process and also the cold foil process. The evaluation included foil decorated product that represented 25 percent post consumer waste up to 100 percent post consumer waste, meeting levels that far exceed normal conditions. “It has become quite apparent that this study is extremely important to the long-term health of our industry and association,” stated FSEA Executive Director Jeff Peterson. “We are very excited with the positive findings of the study and are making every effort to communicate these findings to the graphic arts and packaging industries as quickly as possible.”
Along with the findings, the study describes the pulping and screening methods used in the research, and provides a complete analysis of the reporting results from the testing methods. The main conclusion from the study validates the recyclability of paper products decorated by both the traditional hot stamp and new cold foil processes. In addition, the study finds that neither hot nor cold foil-decorated products would give rise to problems found in other decorating processes that may render the decorated paper products unsuitable for recycling.
The Foil Stamping & Embossing Association is committed to providing its members and the industry at large with the tools to address the expanding number of questions regarding the topic of sustainability. The complete copy of the study is available for distribution. To obtain a copy or to receive further information, contact the Foil Stamping & Embossing Association at (785) 271-5816 or e-mail jeff@fsea.com.
Breaking Down The Facts
Hot vs. Cold Foil – Defining the difference
Cold Foil Printing is an in line process that works on rotary letterpress and rotary flexo presses closely duplicating hot foil stamping, typically used by label manufacturers. Cold foil printing is faster, more efficient, and does not require the costly dies associated with hot foil stamping. Household consumables, scented candles, wine labels, and cosmetic packaging are the most popular.
www.gocold.com/what_is_cold_foil.htm
Foil stamping uses heat and metallic film in a specialty printing process that produces a shiny design on paper, vinyl, textiles, wood, hard plastic, leather, and other materials. Instead of using magnetism, plates, or inks to print words and shapes, foil stamping uses dies, or sculpted metal stamps. The heated dies seal a thin later of metallic leaf onto a surface. The foil comes in a wide roll, large enough for several passes, backed by Mylar. The hot die works similarly to a letterpress. Once heated, it presses the foil against the substrate material with enough pressure that the foil sticks only in the intended places, leaving a slight imprint. www.wisegeek.com
Defining the difference between INGEDE and FINAT recycling measures
Two types of recycling measures were tested which include the INGEDE Method 12 and FINAT FTM-19 method. for each method the industrial conditions were replicated to provide a standard case for deinking and ‘standard’ recycling.
The INGEDE (Internationa Association of the Deinking Industry) Method 12 assesses the recyclability for printed products that have adhesive applications. In this method deinking chemicals consisting of 0.6% sodium hydroxide, 1.8% waterglass, 0.7% peroixde and 8.8% surfactant are used to remove ink from the pulp. The material is pushed thrugh a screen where particles are collected. This process DOES NOT reevaluate the materical passed through the screen during the downstream process. The rejected material is collected and assessed. www.ingede.de/ingindxe/methods/meth12pe.pdf
The FINAT (International Federation for Self Adhesive Labels) FTM-19 applies typicalpaperboard recycloing conditions and evaluages the contaminants in the pulp before AND after the screening process. This method does not focus on the rejected particals caught by the screen, but instead reviews the material that passes through the screen and measures its contamination, if applicable. This process is more labor intensive and costly since all material is collected and retested.
As per the FSEA’s report “the reason for the amalgamation of both methods is to combine the quantification of basic repulplability of the INGEDE approach with the measurement of the contaminants prior to screening inherent in the FINAT method, whih method also provides an assessment of potential problems in contamination of paper machine drying cylinders or felts by stickies.”
Recommended use of repulped foil decorated material include:
• Use in recyled grades that could not cause aesthetic problems such as fluting medium, inner plies of solid boards, book binding boards andwhite-top liners, spirally-wound tube and core stock
• if centrifugal cleaners effectively remove metallic particles then bleached foil decorated stock could be used in bleached grades depending upon the fibre source. Unbleached fibre could be used for linerboards, sack kraft and bag grades.
About Pira:
Pira International is a leading commercial consultancy, testing and meida business which specialized in retail supply chain technologies related to industries such as packaging, paper, plastics, printing, publicshing and consumer goods. Pira has established a reputation as one of the key knowledge providers in these industry sectors. www.piranet.com/
Information on Sludge from Paper Recycling
Aquired from FSEA.com
The amount and nature of deinking sludge generated at a particular recycling facility is directly related to the type of waste paper consumed by the mill. Contaminants are present in wastepaper and do become part of the sludge. In addition to obvious trash (staples, paper clips, etc), during the waste paper recycling process all non-cellulose materials are removed from the fiber. This includes inks, dyes, adhesives, coatings, foil, and fillers such as clay and calcium carbonate. While the volume and composition of sludge can pose disposal challenges, the consensus among the environmental community is that the benefits of recycling far outweigh sludge disposal concerns. Deinking sludge is most commonly dewatered and then landfilled. Sludge with high clay content may be beneficially used as liner and capping material for landfills. Some sludge is high in nutrients and minerals and, when meeting stringent testing requirements, may be used as a soil conditioner on farm or forest land. Some facilities burn sludge as fuel within specialized industrial boilers and the ash may be landfilled or used as aggregate in concrete or cement. However, in some cases the concentration of heavy metals in the resulting ash may warrant special handling practices.
During the week of January 5-9, Corley Bell (left) and Becky Miller (right), two sophomores from Bucknell University, visited Rizco Design to experience a week in the life of design. The week included involvement in team meetings, brainstorming and decision making, balanced by educational classes that covered proper business procesess of a design studio, budgeting, learning about paper, printing and environmental measures.The students were provided with a project of their own that they efficiently researched, brainstormed, designed and then presented to the team for constructive criticism to provide clear insight to the creative process. The students worked closely with Creative Director, Keith Rizzi, and Designer, Patrick Kesler, to refine their project in order to prepare for their final presentation.
A highlight of the week was a day trip to visit two printing firms, Capital Printing Corporation, a mid-sized sheetfed printing company, and Earth•Thebault, a national printing conglomerate that handles web and sheetfed printing. Senior managers of Capital Printing, and former Bucknellians, Brett and Nolan Russo, guided the team through a plant with all processes under one roof and showcased that the art of printing is far from a “push of the button.” At Earth•Thebault, Vice President and 19-year veteran of the company, Kevin Finn, showcased the latest printing technologies that are available on the market and showcased web printing which is critical for large run publications such as newspapers and large magazines. We are thankful for Brett, Nolan and Kevin’s time, enthusiasm and expertise during our visit!
About the Bucknell Externship Program
The program provides interested sophomores with unpaid and noncredit, shadowing experiences in a wide variety of career and industry areas throughout the country over winter break. To learn more visit www.bucknell.edu/x2688.xml
As gas prices continue to soar and green-powered products appear in the marketplace, the awareness and demand for renewable energy continues to rise. The five types of green energy include hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, biogas and biomass. The benefits? According to the EPA, green power purchases avoid carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, reduce some types of air pollution, hedge against future electricity price increases, serve as a brand differentiator, generate customer, investor or stakeholder loyalty and employee pride, create positive publicity and enhance your organization’s public image and demonstrate civic leadership. Early in 2007, Rizco Design converted its office to a 50% hydro/50% wind platform, so we thought it would be important to learn a bit more.
Back in June of 2008, Rizco Design hopped in a car and headed south to Atlantic City, New Jersey, not to gamble away our money or drink ourselves silly, (which would have been fun as well!) but instead to learn more about renewable energy! A quick hour and a half later we landed at our destination, Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA), a well air-conditioned, dimly lit building, filled with flashing lights and a few bells and whistles. ACUA is an agency that provides responsible water and land waste management to southern New Jersey and is the home of the first commercial wind farm in NJ that creates sustainable power along the coastline.
Thomas Lauletta, our trusty guide and VP at ACUA, filled us in on the history of the wind farm that was developed by Community Energy and Jersey-Atlantic Wind. There are five 380-foot wind turbines that are named after the wives of the top executives including Deirdre, K.C., Cathy, May and Carol! The windmills are situated on ACUA’s wastewater management plant, where they generate up to 1.5 megawatts of power. Their main function is to feed New Jersey’s energy grid with alternative energy, although they also provide 1/3 of the plant’s power in exchange for the ideal location for wind in the area. Additionally, almost three thousand solar panels also supply energy for the plant as well, in order to minimize the amount of non-renewable energy used. ACUA even has an electric car named “Sunny “on site too that is wind and solar powered! As you can imagine, tons of wastewater is pumped through the plant around the clock that requires a great deal of power. It is great to see that ACUA is clearly committed minimizing their environmental footprint.
Rizco’s second stop was to ACUA’s Environmental Park, a 360-acre compound that provides land waste management for much of southern New Jersey. Michele Bellinger, ACUA’s Public Education Director, introduced us to the organization’s green platform. From hybrid vehicles, to a bio-diesel fueling station, to a “Geo” Administrative Building, ACUA’s Environmental Park is at the forefront of environmental responsibility. The land is divided up in to different areas of waste management. In one area, biodegradable land waste, such as wood, branches and leaves are recycled into different types of bio-soil and bio-mulch through a composting process that takes 3 to 6 months. In another building, plastics, glass, paper and cardboard are collected, sorted and distributed to off-site centers for recycling. Possibly the most impressive area of the park, though, is its landfill project. Generally, landfills would seem more offensive than impressive, but in this case, ACUA is putting their un-avoidable waste to work! In a typical landfill setting, methane and other harmful greenhouse gases are emitted into the air. ACUA has capped off inactive areas and currently pumps out these gases via underground gas wells, which is burned off and converted into energy! The landfill supplies 100% of the park’s energy while preventing gases from polluting the air! Genius!
All in all, it was definitely worth the trip down to ACUA to see the processes and gain a better understanding of wind and other alternative energy sources. Tours are free, so call and schedule one for your company!
Michele Bellinger
ACUA Public Education
509 272-6937