Timing is everything, and things--both good and bad--happen in threes. In 1993, three ideas converged to make something good happen in the printing industry: an environmentally correct way to produce business documents. But most people don't know about it.
Idea No. 1: Deluxe Makes a Discovery
In the early 1990s, Shoreview, Minn.-based Deluxe Corporation, the largest U.S. printer of checks and related financial forms, was churning out more than 100 million short runs of printed products annually. This volume required frequent replacements of plates and corresponding press washups. Deluxe's printing process used a combination of petroleum- or soy-based inks and solvents, which yielded harmful emissions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds). The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act prohibits such emissions. With more stringent requirements looming from the EPA, Deluxe felt pressure to comply quickly.
Through research, Deluxe found that the solvents it used produced more pollutants than other inks due to the ink's composition. After failed attempts to get ink and solvent producers to solve the problem, Deluxe decided to handle the issue on its own. The company's unique view of ink and solvent as a system led to its introduction of Printwise, a system it developed in 1993 that uses 100-percent vegetable oils. Printwise is cleaned from the blanket with a distinctly formulated water-based solution. The system's vegetable-based ink holds less than 7 percent VOC content compared with soy inks with VOC levels as high as 35 percent and petroleum-based inks with even higher levels. The greatest environmental benefits come from the presswash, according to Gerry Callahan, founder of Enviropartners Inc., a Framingham, Mass.-based marketing services company dedicated to environmentally sound methods and materials. (See "The Enviropartners Business Model" on the opposite page.) Printwise inks wash up with a water-based solution that consists of zero VOCs.
Through careful controls, the ink remains water-insoluble during printing, but becomes soluble during ink washup. Callahan likens the presswash to an old-time horror movie in which the cast's names drip down a scrolling screen. The presswash produces a pH-driven reaction that causes the ink to break down during the washup of blankets or rollers.
Idea No. 2: SICPA Gets a Call
With a new market opportunity at hand, Deluxe decided to enter the ink business and sell Printwise to the printing industry. In 1996, Deluxe began to restructure and exited the ink business, selling its Printwise Ink division to SICPA Securink Corporation. SICPA, a worldwide company based in Switzerland with U.S. headquarters in Springfield, Va., is the primary ink supplier to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing for the printing of U.S. currency. SICPA's Security division supplies security and conventional inks to the printing industry throughout North America.
John La Brant, who worked for Deluxe when it conceived Printwise, now serves as regional account manager at SICPA's Chicago location. Today, every check Deluxe produces uses the Printwise system, eliminating VOC emissions and reducing related production costs, La Brant says.
When SICPA purchased the Printwise concept from Deluxe, another company, Lincoln, R.I.-based manufacturer S&A Paramount Printing, was feeling pressure to comply with the Clean Air Act. Pete Rainone, president of S&A Paramount Printing, attended seminars about pollution prevention. He heard an EPA regional director say the agency would target printing companies to ensure compliance. "I suddenly felt like I had a bull's-eye painted on my forehead," Rainone recalls. Coincidentally, he had just read about a new ink that could be washed without VOC solvent, and seriously considered the new alternative to conventional and soy inks.
S&A Paramount Printing participated in an EPA study to gauge the viability of Printwise, then converted to the Printwise system. Soon after the transition, S&A Paramount Printing received awards from various environmental groups for its process improvements. Today, the firm uses Printwise for all of its work, except jobs requiring metallic inks, magnetic inks and some pharmaceutical-grade printing that requires inks approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
By committing to Printwise, S&A Paramount Printing also provided a cleaner, safer workplace for employees. Also, health care customers appreciated the environmental benefits of the process and began purchasing byproducts such as business forms, laser cut sheets and commercial printing.
Idea No. 3: S&A Paramount Spurs Enviropartners
Callahan, who was S&A Paramount Printing's sales and marketing manager during this time, seized the opportunity to transfer the Printwise concept to other manufacturers. He began developing marketing materials to support the idea, and founded Enviropartners in 1999. "We saw a need that went largely ignored--the need for a cleaner working environment for the printing industry and a product that knowledgeable distributors and customers wanted," Callahan says.
Callahan calls Printwise "economically sustainable," which means that printers can implement it without additional costs. (Rainone says the system's cost is competitive conventional inks, and that the washup solution costs approximately one-fourth as much as regular presswash solvents. The quantity of the washup solution used is almost double that of regular solvents, but most users enjoy a net savings of approximately 50 percent, he says.) Also, Printwise inks are formulated with a unique varnish system and are stronger and more durable than conventional inks, La Brant says. The inks provide enhanced print quality and tack stability as well as fewer hickeys, leading to less spoilage and waste, he says.
Rainone says press productivity hasn't changed regarding make-ready and run times, but he's getting more impressions from the Printwise inks. "We're seeing about 3 percent better mileage out of the ink," he says.
Callahan, La Brant and Rainone say that converting a printing plant to the Printwise system is relatively easy. Minor press adjustments are required, as is true when changing consumables such as inks, fountain solutions, plates or blankets. When several plants in a company are involved, it's best to change one at a time to accommodate differences in press types, La Brant says.
S&A Paramount's initial "debugging" of the Printwise system paved the way for others to adapt this new-age style of printing. One of the largest printing companies in the industry now is testing Printwise in 12 of its facilities for economic feasibility, Callahan says. "Clearly, this is the future of printing," he says.
Contributing Editor Dennis McGarry, CDC, is vice president of manufacturer and technical programs at DMIA. Email him your comments at dmcgarry@PSDA.org.
