Environmental Stewardship

 
"...the United States has been amongst world leaders in environmental reform in both the paper and printing industries during the last 50 years and typically perform at the highest international standards of environmental responsibility.  ...We do not have legislation to prevent the import of environmentally high risk goods into our society - perhaps we should."
          Derek Smith
          paperleadership.com
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our sustainability policy at The Messenger Press has evolved in an informal manner gradually over a number of years.  Long before “reduce, reuse, recycle” became part of popular culture, we were conserving resources and reusing parts and other materials.  Perhaps it comes from being part of a self-sufficient farming community.  “Waste not, want not” is simply a way of life and taking care of your property, people and community just makes sense.
 

Principle #1)  Do a job right the first time.
Principle #2)  Do it as efficiently as possible.
Principle #3)  Waste as little as possible when creating something and create as little
                                 disturbance possible to the environment while doing it.
Principle #4)  Keep it, reuse it or recycle it.
 
 
No fancy philosophy.  No proclamations about saving the planet.  Just practical, everyday efforts to take care of our little corner of the world and help our clients do the same.

 
30+ years
·       All scrap paper and aluminum throughout facility (including office & lounge) recycled
·       All outdated equipment (mechanical and digital) is either donated or recycled

 
1992    
·       All cardboard, plastic and steel scrap recycled
·       Vegetable/soy Inks (reduced VOCs, improved stay-open reducing need for daily wash-ups,
        easier end-product recycling, recyclable cans)
·       Ink waste and solvent recycling implemented
·       Water-based adhesives 

 
1996                 
·       Installation of T8 lighting facility-wide reducing power consumption
·       Alcohol-free
 
 
2001                 
·       Press purchase primarily based on power consumption
·       In-line aqueous coating (water-based – requires less production power and more
        biodegradable than UV options)
·       Inking pre-sets and Spectrophotometer ATS improve ink adjustments reducing paper, ink,
        fountain solution and energy consumption
 
 
2002                 
·       CTP (now in 2nd generation) Completely digital pre-press eliminating chemicals, water
        use/contamination, reducing VOCs, and power consumption
        For details on our CtP system, visit Agfa now.
·       Digital proofing

 
2008                 
·       Provision of corporate portals for individual catalogs for web to print orders

 
2009                 
·       Transitioning corporate materials to minimum 25% pcw and FSC certified materials
·       Providing sustainability info/resources for clients and staff
·       Partnering with FSC certified paper vendors

 
 
For more information on planning sustainable print projects speak with one of our printing professionals. Additional resources on sustainability are available on our Customer Service page.