When it comes to print finishing, there are a few industry buzzwords you’re probably more than a bit familiar with. “Automation” and “sustainability” are two terms that people throw around quite a bit, but did you know they are intrinsically linked? The more automated your print finishing processes are, the more sustainable your operation will become. Here’s a closer look at how automation improves your environmental footprint.
Waste
Perhaps the single biggest culprit of poor environmental scores in an operation is the waste streams. With traditional finishing processes, such as cutting, a lot of waste material is tossed — and while some is recycled, anything with ink on it might not be eligible for anything other than a landfill. Automation can help streamline that process and ensure every cut is precise, with no extra material trimmed or used than necessary.
Errors
The second biggest offender — which ties right in with waste — is errors in the process. We’re all human, and it’s easy to make mistakes. Small errors, however, add up over time, and can mean a lot of wasted money and materials. By automating the processes and taking the human element out, you are ensuring your print operation gets it right every time.
Efficiency
Sure, automation usually goes hand in hand with efficiency, but did you know that efficiency is also more sustainable when it comes for print and finishing? Automated digital finishing equipment allows you to do things like gang jobs and fit more on a sheet, knowing the system can handle it. You cut down on the amount of material used across the board, which in turn makes your operation far more environmentally friendly.
Customization
You might be wondering what digital finishing’s ability to automatically add elements to pieces on the fly has to do with sustainability — but it absolutely does. If customers can get highly personalized, well-finished pieces on demand, they don’t need to print mass quantities of materials that may or may not ever get used. They can just print what they want, when they need it, and not sacrifice any of the bells and whistles.
Maintenance
Automation goes beyond the process of putting a job out the door. Most equipment today also has some form of automated predictive maintenance on board, which will ensure you are always keeping the machines in top condition. On the sustainability front, this means you’re not wasting materials trying to troubleshoot a problem somewhere or having to toss a job and re-run it because of quality issues on the equipment. Maintenance is an important part of the sustainability journey, and automation makes the process faster, smoother, and more accurate across the board.
Energy
Modern digital finishing equipment uses less energy than its traditional counterparts, which is, of course, far more environmentally friendly. Automation takes it to the next level. Automated processes mean the equipment is only running when it needs to, without sitting idle and consuming energy when there aren’t jobs to run.
Overall, switching to digital finishing equipment will improve your sustainable print status from the start, but when you start layering in automation, it really becomes a powerful tool to not only put jobs out faster — with better quality and more personalization — but it’s also far healthier for the environment.
TONI McQUILKEN
Guest Blogger
NAPCO Media
