17th December, London, UK - Two Sides, the UK initiative to promote the responsible production of print and paper, today reports the continued growth of its membership and welcomes twelve new members to its campaign. Aimed at promoting awareness of the sustainability of print and paper as a 'Renewable, Recyclable and Powerful' medium, Two Sides was launched in September 2009 and involves almost 100 companies and associations spanning the Graphic Communications Supply Chain.

What’s the hottest topic in print these days? Judging by the spate of recent announcements, it’s carbon calculators. They’re everywhere, from Google’s calculator and those of NGOs such as the Carbon Trust and Envirowise in the UK, through to energy companies the world round. Even book publishers are getting into the act. For instance, Finnish book printer WS Bookwell’s ecocalculator calculates CO2 emissions and environmental impacts based on materials alternatives, production data and print run specifications.

Wyke Printers, a family owned business based in Kingston-upon-Hull, UK, is known throughout the country as one of the leading litho print service providers. The commercial printer, with 65 employees and an annual turnover of £4 million, operates a "no order too big or too small" service and produces a wide range of jobs from personalised business cards to high value glossy magazines for a number of well-known brands and high street names. A big part of the company's business also involves printing pattern books and fabric cards for wallpaper companies.

Gröbenzell, Germany, December 1, 2009 – The PrintCity Alliance has signed the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change, calling for an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change that responds credibly to the scale and urgency of the crises facing the world today.

We’ve seen processless plates, and plates with low chemistry requirements, but what about a CtP plate with no coating or chemistry whatsoever?

Computer to plate production has improved printing’s carbon footprint no end because it does away with film and the associated chemistry. But the recently announced Miracle technology, developed in the UK by JPI, does away with coatings and processing entirely. JPI has patented a method of switching uncoated, grained and anodised aluminium from hydrophilic to hydrophobic states, so they don’t need any coatings at all.

Environmental considerations have never played such an important role in CtP. Computer-to-plate has moved a long way in terms of affordability, performance and reliability since the early days. Plate technology has advanced to the point where printers can choose between traditional CtP systems that use chemical development and new chemistry-free technologies. This article looks at the latest chemistry-free systems, the different technologies that they use and the benefits they deliver to the user.

With money getting tighter, now is a good time to look at ways to cut costs. Fortunately for the planet, going green is a great way to do this, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. One of the largest printers in the UK is St. Ives, with a group turnover of €200 million and approximately 4,500 employees across its 22 sites, all of which are ISO 14001 compliant. (This is the standard that specifies the requirements for an environmental management system.)