According to many of the world’s leading scientists we’re currently drinking in the ‘last chance saloon’ when it comes to battling climate change. Many believe collective and concerted action is the only means to address what they describe as a truly global threat. The clock is ticking! – “Last orders”!

So, how does a printing company in the Channel Islands play its part in saving the planet when certain nations are still running their economies on fossil fuels? What actions can we take to be a responsible, responsive member of society? After all, printers are part of the problem aren’t they?

Times have changed. The market and technology have reinvented the industry and printers have cleaned up their act. Back in the days of offset lithography the process involved chemicals, aluminium plates, rivers of ink, massive paper wastage and hours spent preparing a machine before the first page is printed. Now, you can produce artwork straight to a PDF which is then printed immediately with no wastage.

Because we now use digital offset you don’t need to print thousands of brochures to get the unit cost down. If you only need five then the system allows us to do that. The days of ‘the more you buy the cheaper they are’ have been binned (recycled!). Stock rooms full of unwanted brochures are a thing of the past. Now, you don’t have to buy more than you need.

Here at Printed In Gsy we take our responsibilities extremely seriously and we look at all aspects of our operation. All our vehicles are electric and any forest-sourced materials such as paper originates from a supply which is renewed and well-managed. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the highest standard for products which originate in forests. We are proud to have their logo on our work.

We’re also a member of the Woodland Trusts’ Carbon Capture Scheme, offsetting the CO2 emissions of the paper we use by planting native woodland throughout the UK. Each month, the CO2 generated is calculated and we donate an appropriate amount to plant woodland at one of their accredited sites.

One of the products we offer is ‘plastic paper’. It might seem counter-intuitive in these days of reducing plastic use but they offer greater durability than paper. An example would be a brochure we print in plastic for a garden centre where it is kept outdoors. We don’t need to reprint it again and again when it gets wet and falls apart. We just print one and it lasts. Again, no wastage.

To do right by our customers, our community and our planet we have to stay up to date with cutting-edge technology. We’re well-informed with what is going on in our industry.

All the inks we use are either vegetable or water-based compared to the old-fashioned oil and rubber compounds. In the bad old days so much of it was thrown away when a colour was changed and large amounts of cleaning chemicals were used. It was a messy game and I didn’t have clean hands for years. Laser technology has cleaned up a dirty, smelly industry and enhanced its green credentials.

The credo we stick to is to have pride in what we do, to look after customers, to always keep our machines well maintained and serviced and to train staff to the highest level we can. We are pleased to say many other reputable local businesses also follow that mantra. It’s an encouraging sign for the future.