Greenerprinter: Adobe Success Story

We are proud to have recently been added to Adobe’s “Customer Showcase” as a success story for our commitment to sustainability through the use of the latest available technology.

Our CEO Mario Assadi has said it best: “We want print to be regarded as a good, environmentally responsible alternative to other media. We don’t want print to be marginalized due to cost, environmental concerns, or availability of electronic media. All media has a carbon footprint and we’re working toward making the footprint of printed pieces equivalent to, or less than, other media.”

How do we work towards this goal? By eliminating inefficiencies in the manufacturing process, streamlining communications with customers, and making internal operations more sustainable. The integrated suite of Adobe products has been essential to supporting our end-to-end digital workflows, which help mitigate our environmental impact. For example, we receive 95% of files from customers as Adobe PDF or Creative Suite files and send over 90% of proofs as PDFs; this speeds up the production process, avoids unnecessary errors, eliminates fuel consumption of courier services, and helps reduce the amount of paper consumed.  We also use Job Definition Format (JDF) to route documents through various workflow steps, specifying ink zones, press set up instructions, and cutting and folding directions for JDF-enabled devices; this automates the process, speeding throughput, reducing errors, conserving paper and energy, and lowering production costs.

Variable data printing and customized storefront capabilities help clients deliver customized, targeted printed materials, increasing efficiency in what they print and how they print it; Clif Bar & Company has used this capability for their LUNAFEST materials, as noted in our case study. Finally, prepress operations are computerized to remove photo-chemicals, a recycling program for solvents was established, and we also use alcohol-free printing, recycled papers, low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) inks, and energy efficient equipment.

The original Adobe Success Story is available on the Greenerprinter website.