DCI’S SUSTAINABILITY MISSION

There’s a simple rule that everyone has at one time or another learned rings true:  doing good makes you feel good.  All of us who make up Digital Color International live, work, and relax in the local area.  So it’s very personal to us to make sure that we keep our playground as green and safe as we possibly can.  Not only does this impact the world at large, but also our own family, in our own backyard.  We’re proud to be good members of our community, and work hard building a reputation of doing what’s right to keep it beautiful and clean.

The processes of our industry can be hazardous. Many of the solvents, varnishes, driers, and other solutions used in producing film, printing plates, and cleaning the presses are toxic pollutants that will harm our environment.  We believe it’s not that hard to minimize these hazards though through informed choices and good management practices.  At DCI, we have an ongoing commitment to finding practical solutions to protect our environment, whether it’s running our lights using energy efficient practices, distilling chemicals into inert liquids that are no more harmful than orange juice, or being fanatics about recycling even the cleaning rags we use.

We encourage our clients and suppliers to share our ongoing commitment to a clean environment. Every point of contact with your audience should reinforce the idea that you are not only saying the right things, but doing the right things.  But if your print vendor employs traditional methods to produce your marketing materials - using virgin-fiber paper, petroleum-based inks, toxic solvents, and chlorine-bleached papers, you may be doing more harm than good.  This issue has become so significant that now for many clients, it has become a corporate requirement to use eco-friendly printers like DCI. 

Although cutting out paper altogether might not be an option, many of the marketing campaigns we create today are multimedia, using paperless online methods of communication and resulting in increased response rates and higher profit margins.

In addition to the list below, DCI is also certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC).

THE MANY THINGS WE DO TO MAKE OUR WORLD AND WORK ENVIRONMENT BEAUTIFUL, SAFE AND HEALTHY:

• A large portion of DCI’s print processes rely on digital printing, which avoids the film and chemicals in traditional printing processes.  In fact, instead of traditional toner, we use a compound configured from organically-grown crystals. 
• When requested, we use paper stocks managed by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), an independent certification body which ensures that the forests our papers come from are being managed in an environmentally responsible way focused on sustainability.
• We recycle 100% of all waste paper and board produced.
• Our offset department uses vegetable-based inks instead of the solvent alternative.
• We have eliminated disposable cleaning wipes (printing can be a messy business) and replaced them with rags that are commercially washed and re-used.
• None of our printing waste products go into the city sewer system.
• Our prepress operations have completely eliminated the use of film.
• All on press plate chemicals are distilled into inert or completely neutralized liquids (they look very similar to orange juice!) before disposal.
• The actual plate development process has recently been converted to a completely chemical-free manufacturing procedure.
• We recycle 100% of aluminum plates used in our offset processes. 
• Projects that require the use of vinyl have the availability to use a product that breaks down in only 3 years, not a lifetime.
• All our printing processes use low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound, less than 2%-3%) inks to help reduce air pollution and increase safety. 
• Our offset printing press has been re-fitted with new roller systems to run alcohol-free. Most printing operations use a process of water and Isopropyl alcohol in a very concentrated form which when emitted into the atmosphere are considered to be harmful VOCs.
• The air inside our facility is filtered and re-circulated instead of emitting into the atmosphere.
• Electricity is the second-highest environmental impact after paper consumption for printers, so we converted the electricity used to power our hundreds of light fixtures from 110 volt to three-phase 277 volt so the lights can run on the same power used by our own machines, reducing energy consumption drastically.
• We promote green practices to our customers and suppliers.
• Our business management computer systems are state of the art, allowing us to implement virtually paperless internal communications.
• All of our equipment is energy efficient, and operated with energy savings in mind.