by Cassandra Balentine
Many organizations view sustainability as a core value. They want to do business with eco-minded companies. Based in Watauga, TX, EnvironPrint understands this demand. The company was established in the early 2000s. It strives to minimize its carbon footprint by executing a comprehensive plan that includes several initiatives combined to make a real difference. It does this is by utilizing digital printing and finishing technologies and strategizing to produce as little waste as possible.
The digital print provider offers a range of products, including business and marketing essentials, boxes, packaging, labels, stickers, and cards. It will ship anywhere and operates out of a 38,000 square foot facility. It employs a staff of 40.
Creating products in a sustainable manner is an important, but challenging task. Shaun Robertson, director of ecommerce, EnvironPrint, points out that when running an operation that serves such a range of needs with multiple product lines items like machinery, steel dies, wasted inks and coatings, and leftover scraps tend to pile up.
From the get-go, EnvironPrint set out to provide customers with an option to still get the same products they could years ago, only with the advantage of a smaller impact on the environment.
“With new technology that has come to digital printing and digital die-cutting, it is now possible to reduce a company’s carbon footprint,” shares Robertson.
It strives to achieve sustainability wherever possible. Therefore all of EnvironPrint scrap is recycled and all of its inks and most of its coatings are water based to avoid chemical waste.
Digital Finishing
EnvironPrint is a 100 percent digital operation. Whether producing a box, a label, or a custom card, digital print and finishing technologies help to reduce waste compared to traditional methods. “We use no plates and have little to no waste as a result,” he offers.
The company utilizes a seven-color digital press with inline coating and drying, multiple four-color toner devices, and various digital wide format UV presses. It also operates an extensive finishing portfolio, including a Highcon Beam 2 digital laser cutter and creasing device, multiple Zünd digital flatbed cutting tables, a folder and gluer, as well as lithographic mounting equipment.
The shop’s laser cutting technologies provide an edge over the competition. “We have the ability and experience to handle any project or task our customer needs,” states Robertson.
The Highcon Beam 2 digital cutting and creasing solution features speeds of up to 5,000 sheets per hour; the machine was developed as a solution to the challenges facing folding carton converters and print service providers. It replaces the expensive and slow conventional die-making and setup process with a digital technology that delivers improved responsiveness, design flexibility, and the ability to perform a range of applications in house.
“We found out about this technology four to five years ago,” notes Robertson. “It broke the mold. It took what CNC machines and traditional die-cutting machines do and made a hybrid using the best aspects of both. Making a three-dimensional printed die on a foil drum allows us to increase production like a traditional die cutter,” he explains.
Even with the speed capacity offered by the Highcon, EnvironPrint really sees the advantage in smaller runs. “If a job is ten, 50, 100, or 200 sheets of paper, each job takes approximately the same amount of time. It takes about 15 minutes to print and cure a die, a few test sheets for registration, and then you’re off and running. In the past you would have to order an expensive die and often that would take two to three days to receive. The other option was to use a CNC table for these applications and cutting one sheet could take five minutes a piece. We saw the Highcon Beam as a solution to this problem,” comments Robertson.
EnvironPrint benefits from an early relationship with Highcon. It appreciates the ability to have a customer’s idea come to life, and it is something that has allowed it to take off in directions it hadn’t even imagined. “We can now offer a higher level of production in a shorter time with the speed and versatility of the machine, while also having the ability to produce the most detailed projects on the same machine with little time in between jobs,” he says.
He finds the biggest advantage of laser cutting is the versatility it enables. The machine is able to cut and crease anything between 13×19- and a 29×4-inch printed sheets. It also cuts and creases 100 lb text weight paper up to e-flute corrugated material. “It’s the only machine we know that can finish out all of the products we produce on various print devices,” he shares.
Depending on the size and difficulty of a job, the company may also decide to employ one of its Zünd cutting machines. Luckily, it does not have to outsource any processes to complete client work, and this is something it would like to maintain. “The quality of our customers’ products comes first and we believe keeping your job under one roof is the best solution,” states Robertson.
Up Lighting
Common applications that EnvironPrint has created with the help of the Highcon are unique folding cartons, laser cut greeting cards, and marketing collateral pieces.
The company recently utilized its Highcon laser cutter and creaser on a job for a local event planning company. The client wanted a unique, tabletop lantern that could hold a tea candle, which was used to illuminate an event space. With its cutting capabilities, EnvironPrint was able to create a lock bottom folding carton and knockout letters down the sides to let the light out.
The lantern was digitally printed using a seven-color printing press on 18 pt Solid Bleached Sulfate. This provided a large color gamut and a sturdy substrate for the lantern. It was cut using the Highcon Beam 2. Since it is a digital laser cutting machine, no metal dies or traditional creasing tools were used on the project.
The lantern was produced within a three-day turnaround.
Custom Cuts
EnvironPrint is focused on its customers and sustainability. It utilizes digital printing and finishing equipment to improve turnaround time, enable customization, and reduce waste. Its extensive cutting lineup enables it to cost-effectively produce short runs of unique, intricate products ranging from packaging to marketing collateral. dps
Sep2021, DPS Magazine
