Consumables
Seacourt implements Toray plates
Wednesday 23. May 2018 - Toray Graphics in the Czech Republic, a leading manufacturer of waterless offset plate technology, today reported that Seacourt, an award-winning, environmentally conscious commercial printer located in the UK, has taken environmental sustainability to a brand new level across its entire operation.
“Everything that comes into our plant either leaves as finished product or enters one of our 18 recycling streams,” said Gareth Dinnage, Managing Director. “We have achieved completely carbon neutral production using 100% renewable energy, no water, no chemicals and VOC-free inks. We could not have achieved this without our long-term partnership with Toray and its waterless offset printing technologies.”
Waterless offset printing has enabled Seacourt to save more than 8 million litres of fresh water. “We also reduced our VOC emissions by 98.5% as soon as we switched to waterless offset,” Dinnage stated. “We have seen higher quality printing as a result. When we incorporate our patented LightTouch into the waterless printing process, the quality is even further enhanced. In fact, many of our clients have migrated to more environmentally friendly uncoated stocks because we can now deliver the same quality as a coated stock but with the tactile feel our clients prefer. Its a massive win that could not be achieved without waterless offset printing and our partnership with Toray, which spans more than two decades. We dont understand why there are not more waterless offset printers operating in the world. I have no answer for that.”
Seacourt, who has been a zero-waste-to-landfill operation since 2008, was awarded its third Queens award in 2016; achieved the 2017 EMAS European award, the most prestigious award in environmental management; and has been invited to submit applications for several other awards competitions by organisations who were, according to Dinnage, “incredibly impressed at the levels we go to in order to work with the best environmental practices in our sector. These awards are not about our egos. It started because many times when we approached customers or potential customers, they indicated they were not measured based on environmental performance and could not justify paying more for printing produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. Our first awards applications were an effort to validate that we were on the right path, that what we were doing had value.”
Now Seacourt is taking its environmental strategies to the next level. “We are not satisfied with having no impact,” Dinnage stated. “We want to have a net positive impact on the environment. Working with Toray and other partners, we are examining the entire supply chain to understand our partners energy usage, what percentage of that is accounted for by the products we use, and what the carbon footprint of shipping is. That gives us a carbon number. To offset that external carbon footprint, we are sponsoring a Climate Care project in the Amazon Basin in Brazil that provides income and a purpose to about 50 indigenous people growing Acai berries. These super berries are both a food and an energy source for the population. In addition to this agricultural project reclaiming damaged land for agricultural purposes, we are also sponsoring activities to protect old-growth Amazon rain forest.”
“We are proud to be a Seacourt partner,” said Kristian Ekvall, Technical & Sales Consultant of Toray. “What this company has achieved for the benefit of our planet with just 25 employees is amazing. It is the epitome of what Toray has been working to achieve with waterless offset printing. And Seacourt has proven this approach is viable – the company grew 30% last year and anticipates a further 15% growth this year.”
Dinnage concluded, “We all ought to be aware of our environmental impact and be mindful of seeking better and more sustainable approaches in everything we do, with the lightest touch possible. When my 4-year-old son is my age, the world will be a very different place. Taking a sustainable approach can be challenging, but it is incumbent on all of us to embrace that challenge today to ensure a viable world in the future. Our experience shows you will get value out of it. Having partners like Toray that wholeheartedly support our efforts has been critical to our success.”