The IGAEA is a partnership between educators and industry professions who are dedicated to sharing the theories, principles, processes and techniques behind graphic communications and imaging technology.

The theme of this year’s IGAEA conference was “Sustainability: Our Discipline, Our Programs, Our Future.” The weekend’s discussions revolved around understanding the trends shaping the discipline. And according to IGAEA, also on “building and maintaining viable, lasting graphic communications 5479 programs.” On Monday, July 26, Mario addressed the concept of triple bottom line of business sustainability and how graphic arts students can help champion a campus greening effort.

So who is Mario Assadi? Mario holds a degree in Engineering and became involved in the prepress industry during the very early stages of desktop publishing.  In 1988, he founded Tulip Graphics, one of the first digital service bureaus in California. Nearly a decade later, he moved into digital printing and then conventional offset printing. In 2004 Mario launched Greenerprinter, the first online print provider to offer recycled paper and green printing exclusively.

Thanks in part to Mario’s deep commitment to sustainable printing practices,  IGAEA conference attendees went home better equipped to teach sustainable technologies today, and to become a driving force in the green campus movement.

This is our starting point. The scientific case for climate change – and our responsibility for it – has been made. In 2007, a U.N. Panel of over 1200 scientists from 130 countries issued a report concluding that climate change is real, and we will all be affected by it. In testimony at the end of February before the House Ways and Means Committee, a geochemist with the Union of Concerned Scientists confirmed again the importance of regulating emissions, especially since the ocean is reaching its limit of absorbing carbon.  Even the EPA is now considering regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

So what does this mean for printers and print buyers? Like all other businesses – and individuals – we need to make changes. At Greenerprinter, we’ve been working on this. We began offering recycled paper and soy inks exclusively years ago to help businesses and individuals incorporate their green values into their printing. And in our own operations, we are certified as a Green Business, and we offset our carbon emissions.

But this isn’t enough, and we know it. The question for us is: what’s next?

We hope that our blog can serve as a forum in which we can all share our ongoing efforts to become more sustainable, as well as provide resources and information about green printing. We welcome your thoughts about the challenges and opportunities that you have encountered on your own green journey!