What we are doing to reduce our environmental impact?

At Platinum, we are very aware of the environmental impact of our operations and we are committed to minimising this in every aspect of our business. We believe we have a significant role to play in informing you, our customers of the benefits of our green credentials, and where possible, helping you develop your own. The steps we have taken so far reach out across the entire organisation and the advantages of this commitment are two fold; the obvious environmental gains and the resulting cost savings. Our commitment means, we can provide you with the very best advice on how to reduce your company’s impact on the environment when buying your printed products.

SALES OFFICE

Electronic quotes and administration
99% of estimates are delivered electronically saving on postage costs and the associated cost of the delivery service. The complete workflow process is monitored in order to reduce the amount of paper wasted.

Batch printing where possible
We advise you when batch printing can save you money and we improve waste management by sharing machine make-ready and set ups between jobs to drastically reduce waste.

Lighter weight & FSC paper – environmental impact
Huge environmental savings can be made on selecting a lighter weight paper. Transporting lighter paper generates less CO2, the production of this paper uses less wood pulp, water, electricity and chemicals. We use FSC accredited recycled paper for all of our company stationery and actively promote premium quality recycled paper to our customers. We have negotiated excellent terms with our suppliers on an extensive range of recycled stocks.

Grouping deliveries to save costs
Wherever possible (timescale dependent) we group our delivery areas so as to reduce fuel usage and pollution. You can play a large part in improving this situation further by placing orders with longer lead times where possible. In common with many manufacturing companies the longer the lead time the more efficient we are and the more energy saving we can be.

DESIGN/MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Digital proofing
The majority of our proofs are sent electronically to our customers, this has not only improved our environmental impact by reducing the number of laser and inkjet proofs, but dramatically speeds up the approval process.

Computer-To-Plate technology
Approved artwork goes straight to our chemical free plate setter so there are no harmful chemicals used in the process. Changing to CTP has meant 2500 litres per year of harmful chemical waste is no longer used at this stage of production.

Aluminium plates
Our printing plates only use 18 grams of CO2 per square metre of press ready plate compared to a huge 246 grams in a conventional litho plate. So every year we have cut back on 2,140,000 grams of Co2 waste in our platemaking department alone.

Ftp artwork submission
Artwork can sometimes be many megabytes in size and lets face it, sometimes supplied two or three times on CDs which are likely to be thrown away after a single use. We have set up secure ftp areas for our customers to upload artwork and actively encourage its use. If you want to give this method a try please let us know and we will supply the details, it’s completely free of charge.

PRINT ROOM

Environmentally friendly inks
We use vegetable oil based inks on all of our printing presses and low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) chemicals wherever possible in the production process, completely alleviating the use of IPA alcohol on our larger press, this has cut usage by over 1500 litres a year.

Efficient make-ready
We take pride in the quality of our work and this can only be achieved by correct and timely maintenance of our machinery, keeping them accurate and efficient so minimising waste, we have a very low average make ready wastage that is continually monitored so any variations are quickly identified and corrected.

FINISHING DEPT

Recycling waste Paper
All printed machine make ready waste and spoilage is recycled.
Our waste minimisation programme continually reduces the amount of waste paper produced. Cardboard All waste corrugated card packaging is re-used or separated and recycled separately. Polythene is also separated and recycled separately. This policy cuts to the core of the company, with separate re-cycling bins in all departments and even in the staff canteen.

Recycling used plates
All aluminium printing waste is 100% re-cycled and has been since the company first began trading.