2012 Report on Achievements in Implementing Green Printing

On November 5, 2012, the Printing and Distribution Management Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Science and Technology Standards Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection jointly held the 2012 Green Printing Promotion Meeting in Beijing and launched this year's Green Printing Publicity Week. At the meeting, Wang Yanbin, Director of the Printing and Distribution Management Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication, officially released the 2012 "Report on the Results of Implementing Green Printing" to the industry.

I. Implementing green printing has raised printing enterprises' level of energy saving and consumption reduction

A large number of energy-saving equipment and consumption-reduction technologies, such as environmentally friendly ovens, secondary combustion, energy-saving lighting and central air supply systems, have been promoted and applied in the printing industry. According to statistics from sampled enterprises, every 100 million yuan of output value saves about 355,000 kWh of electricity, reduces paper consumption by 21.7 tonnes and saves about 1 tonne of ink. On this basis, it is estimated that, across China's entire printing industry, the implementation of environmental measures such as saving electricity, water, ink and paper has reduced the comprehensive cost of energy consumption and printing material losses by about 500 million yuan each year.

II. Implementing green printing has reduced printing enterprises' discharge of the "three wastes"

Before the implementation of green printing certification, the vast majority of printing enterprises nationwide basically used uncertified materials such as paper and ink as well as traditional printing processes. With the continuous optimization of technologies and processes such as environmentally friendly printing materials, digital printing, digital workflows, computer-to-plate (CTP) technology, central ink supply systems and recycling, the discharge of the "three wastes" has been effectively reduced. At present, more than 60% of the paper used by green-certified printing enterprises is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the use of environmentally friendly inks has reached 80%, and the use of auxiliary materials such as environmentally friendly blanket wash and fountain solution accounts for about 80%; most of them also use post-press auxiliary materials such as pre-coated film, environmentally friendly varnish and environmentally friendly adhesives. Among enterprises that have not yet obtained green certification, the use of environmentally friendly inks is also nearly 20%. On this basis, it is estimated that, after the implementation of green printing in China's printing industry, emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) have been reduced by about 1.5% of the total annual emissions.

III. Implementing green printing has accelerated the pace of industrial restructuring

At present, 60% of printing enterprises above designated size nationwide have adopted computer-to-plate (CTP) technology and digital workflows, significantly raising the digitalization level of the printing industry. CTP installations and inventories have maintained growth of more than 100% for two consecutive years. By 2011, China's CTP inventory had reached 5,500 units (sets). Compared with traditional plate-making processes, the adoption of CTP has reduced printing enterprises' comprehensive environmental costs by about 10%, increased plate-making efficiency by 5 times and made plate-making quality more stable. In addition, primary and secondary school textbooks have begun to use flexographic printing, and by this year's autumn semester, 20 titles and 1 million copies had been printed. According to estimates, green printing certified enterprises currently account for only 0.15% of the total, yet their output value accounts for about 4.5% of the entire industry.

IV. Implementing green printing has achieved good results in benefiting people's livelihood

According to statistics from 23 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), more than 1,000 titles and 200 million copies of primary and secondary school textbooks for the autumn semester of 2012 used green printing. On this basis, it is estimated that more than half of the country's primary and secondary school students (more than 96 million) have at least one green-printed textbook each. From July to October 2012, the Publishing Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center of the General Administration of Press and Publication conducted environmental quality sampling inspections of 95 kinds of green-printed primary and secondary school textbooks in 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country. The results showed that the content of volatile organic compounds and migratable elements all met the requirements of the green printing standards, with a pass rate of 100%. At present, by improving process equipment, reducing environmental noise and cutting dust emissions, printing enterprises have also improved the working environment of nearly one million printing employees.

Implementing green printing is an important strategy for China's printing industry during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period. The implementation of green printing in China is still in its initial stage, and the in-depth development of green printing also depends on the joint efforts of the entire industry and the upstream and downstream of the whole industrial chain. We firmly believe that the implementation of green printing will certainly play a greater role in transforming the mode of industrial development, promoting the sustainable development of the industry, advancing the great development and prosperity of socialist culture, and building an eco-efficient and environment-friendly society.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362014.html