Our Commitment to the Environment
The art and industry of printing has continually evolved over the past decades, as more environmentally friendly processes have displaced older practices such as dumping waste paper in landfills, clear cutting of trees for paper making, and disposing of waste ink and chemicals through the municipal sewer and trash system. Thankfully those are practices from the past, and The Insite Group is continually monitoring ways to be a Greener company.
Paper and Recycling
First and foremost in those efforts is our recycling program. All waste paper generated in the printing process is captured and packed for pickup by our paper recycling partner. Even the boxes that are used to pack the waste paper are recycled and reused. Paper manufacturers have been pressured by the printing industry to produce papers that have less impact on the environment, and today, much of the paper used at Insite contains recycled content. Foresting practices have changed over time too to protect a vital and renewable resource for our industy. The Forest Stewardship Council has become an important part in pushing the industry toward better sustainable practices, and Insite supports their efforts using FSC Certified paper in many of our printing projects. Learn more about FSC paper here.
Ink, Chemicals, and Plates
As the printing industry has evolved and embraced digital technology, the use of caustic chemicals in the printing process has virtually vanished. Today, the only chemical process used at Insite, washing aluminum printing plates, uses only environmentally safe chemistry that needs no special disposal. These water-based chemicals have been developed by an industry keen on environmental safety. Ink however is another story. Inks used in the printing process are both soy and petroleum based and must be disposed of safely. Insite must pay for this disposal at a significant cost. We save all unused and waste ink and ink by-products in approved drums that are then picked up by our ink recycling partner. The only other by-product of the printing process are aluminum plates, and those are put into the recycling chain through our local recycling partner.
For more information on recycling and environmental efforts, click the links below.