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One such supplier is Quad/Graphics, which Subaru has chosen to print and bind Drive magazine. Quad/Graphics’ printing process includes a holistic approach of environmental management. It minimizes environmental impacts from the entire print production process while maximizing value and quality. The approach involves a lot more than printing with paper made with recycled content.
Careful planning helps to eliminate or reduce a number of potential environmental concerns. Planning is most effective if both Subaru as a publisher and the printer take a number of variables into consideration. The paper and the mills that produce it require evaluation to ensure complementary values. Quad/Graphics supports publishers in their efforts to procure paper from forests that are sustainably managed. That means the trees are renewed without upsetting the area’s ecological balance. The mills that manufacture the paper should use sustainable methods in their paper production. This includes how the paper is made into pulp, the chemicals that might be used in the process, emissions into the atmosphere, waste management and the use of energy to run the mills. Other considerations are whether recycled paper is used in production and if resultant paper product can be recycled. On the publisher’s part, planning ahead includes designing a magazine to fit on press with the least waste. Magazine pages are printed together on paper of predetermined size, so arranging the pages for maximum paper usage reduces the amount of trimming required after the magazine leaves the press. |
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The printing process includes another set of variables and initiatives for reducing
environmental impact. Elements in the printer’s physical plant, the operation
of the equipment and the materials used for printing can pose challenges. For instance,
inks and color-correction processes are areas in which Quad/Graphics has made progress
relative to minimizing environmental impacts.
Traditionally, ink has been 100 percent petroleum based. Printers have developed
replacements for a certain percentage of the petroleum component in ink. Quad/Graphics
incorporates the highest amount of renewable oils (i.e., a combination of linseed,
soy and corn oils) in the industry. Their use reduces the amount of petroleum-based
oils in its ink.
During the printing process, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ink are released.
Quad/Graphics employs new dryer/oxidizer technology that utilizes these VOCs as
a fuel. This has led to reductions in natural gas usage.
As more sophisticated systems for color control are developed, such as Quad/Graphics’
patented Color Control System, paper waste during a print run is reduced. Press
operators are able to achieve accurate color quicker and, as a result, use less
paper and ink. A printing company requires a physical plant for its processes. As with any other business, paper and other waste are normal. At Quad/Graphics nearly 100 percent of office and printing waste is recycled, and 98 percent of the solid waste in the plants is recycled.
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| In its ink, Drive printer Quad/Graphics incorporates the highest amount of renewable oils in the industry. | Quick and accurate color control minimizes environmental impact by reducing waste during press runs. |
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Distribution and shipping of Drive magazine presents another set of processes that benefit from attention in order to reduce environmental impact. In its magazine mailings, Subaru inserts important messages like instructions for remote keyless entry operation. That saves on both time and energy costs. Strategies implemented by Quad/Graphics include delivery procedures that ultimately reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Deliveries are coordinated to incorporate publications from a number of clients, thereby avoiding duplicate delivery runs with partial loads. The printer’s fleet is equipped with aerodynamic bodies and engine technologies that reduce fuel consumption as well as emissions. Recently, the company announced its participation in the U.S. EPA’s voluntary program SmartWay. Quad/Graphics was the first printer in the industry to qualify for the program, which seeks to increase the environmental performance of freight shippers through the development and implementation of ways to save fuel, improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The list of Quad/Graphics’ environmental “Four Rs” describes how Subaru and its printing partners practice environmental responsibility. In publishing Drive, both companies:
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