What it means to print

 “sustainably.”

 

It’s more than appearing “Green” through a logo or certification.

 

Our Environmental Philosophy

At Signature Offset, we believe that sustainability is more than just "appearing green" through a logo or certification. It requires an all-encompassing commitment to doing business in new ways that responsibly meet the demands of the present, while ensuring our most precious resources will be be available tomorrow. We proudly and actively put our environmental philosophy into practice in both our printing processes and in our work environments.

 

Our Commitment

We are committed to being good stewards of the environment by promoting the conservation, sustainable use, and recycling of our natural resources. We also encourage the use of paper products made responsibly from natural resources, and actively promote sustainable practices that positively impact the environment.

 

Benefits of Cold Set Printing

Perhaps our most significant contribution to printing sustainably lies in our use of Cold Set technology. Cold set web presses use far less energy and produce far fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than their heat set counterparts.

 

Heat Set Presses

Heat set presses use a powerful heating source to bake the ink into the paper. This process in turn requires additional energy to cool the buildings in which these massive "ovens" operate. Heat set printing's energy inefficiency is made worse by the fact the process uses toxic inks that are very high in VOCs. In order to pass EPA standards, oxidizing afterburners are installed to burn the VOCs emitted. This adds yet another piece of energy-hungry equipment, as do the chill stands required to cool the paper so it can be handled. Worse still, heat set presses cause the chemicals in the ink to bond to the paper so completely, it is difficult or nearly impossible to recycle.

 

Cold Set Presses

The cold set presses used by Signature Offset overcome nearly all the environmental challenges posed by the heat set process. What's more, the quality cold set presses deliver today is comparable to, if not better than, what most heat set alternatives offer. In fact, new screening technologies enable cold set presses like those used by Signature Offset to print as high as 175 lines per inch (LPIs).

 

Without a doubt, today's cold set technology offers a unique combination of quality and environmental responsibility, which is why the process stands as the cornerstone of our approach to sustainable printing. of our natural resources and encouraging the use of paper products made responsibly from those resources.