Print manufacturers used to have it simple: produce what they know best, come up with new gimmicks every now and then, and work on expanding their clientele. There were no complex external factors roiling the industry, forcing fundamental changes and immediate actions in their operations. Ah, those were the days! (For the record, publishers are not living it up on Easy Street either.)
Whether it is green manufacturing, safety testing or digital printing, the print supply chain is shifting its gears as fast as it can to meet new market demands. While the going gets tough and maintaining the status quo is always so much easier, not changing is simply not an option.
For now, sustainable manufacturing is perhaps the most persistent call, with far-reaching consequences within the print supply chain. Printing, which is essentially about putting ink on paper, is by default not eco-friendly. The inks and toners it consumes are the second largest source of carbon black, a by-product primarily derived from the incomplete combustion of petroleum. The paper it uses mostly comes from deforestation that has caused global warming and species extinction. Behind the scenes, printing involves solvents, dyes, varnishes, chlorine (for bleaching paper) and many hazardous by-products.
The Earth Song
Talk about going green and sustainable used to result in you-got-to-be-kidding grimaces and rate as an instant conversation killer. Today, these are topics heard at watercoolers and conference rooms. Reducing carbon footprints and advocating environmental stewardship are no longer feel-good (or sound-good) corporate strategies for the betterment of humanity.
Chain-of-custody certification standards, specifically FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), never stray far from conversations between printers and their supply chain. Many have been accredited with one or all three and are busy educating clients on what those papers really mean. Still, most publishers simply want to know if a supplier is accredited. (And who could blame them for cutting to the chase when time is tight?) Meanwhile, the FSC logo is fast becoming the symbol of environmental care for both the publishing and printing industries. FSC branding is so strong that the other certifications pale in comparison, although SFI grades are more abundant in the market. More mills are undergoing the FSC audit, and the short supply should end soon.
There are plenty of choices between virgin content and 100% recycled papers. For some, using papers with high postconsumer recycled fiber content (say, above 50%) is their way of being green. For others, using soy- or vegetable-based inks instead of petroleum-based or heavy metal inks is the answer. Whichever, there is still an environmental impact from harmful by-products, greenhouse emissions (from the basic printing process itself) and the recycling/de-inking that follows. So perhaps the best way to minimize impact is by reducing waste and minimizing resource usage. Choosing the most appropriate trim size to reduce paper waste, finding an alternative to traditional varnishing or using the least solvent-dependent process, for instance, will help the greening quest while addressing budgetary concerns. (But as with alcoholics and addicts, going green should be done in incremental steps to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms that may backfire.)
Go Digital
Here is another green solution: POD (print on-demand) and its bigger subset, digital printing. Aside from reducing the use of resources through its ability to print as required and in ultra-short runs, digital presses generally use nontoxic toners or dry inks and have a much more eco-friendly design that uses less energy as well as parts that are 90% reusable. Its standard trim sizes further limit paper waste, thus driving a trend to fit content to the process. For equipment suppliers such as Xerox, HP, Canon and Océ, there is but one pursuit to greener solutions: waste nothing, recycle everything.
In the U.S., more titles than ever are moving into POD. Preliminary 2008 statistics show that the number of new and revised titles produced by traditional production methods fell 3% to 275,232, while those going for on-demand and short-run production soared 132% to 285,394. However, it is worth noting that most of these new titles come from self-published authors and online publishers—categories that would not have reached Hong Kong/China print suppliers anyway.
That is not to say that these suppliers are not monitoring the situation. No one at China Print 2009 (May 12—16) could have missed the huge space dedicated to digital printing products and solutions. Kodak's Nexpress S3000 for document printing, for instance, made quite a big impression with its eco-friendly features and was even covered by China's national television network CCTV. Many Hong Kong/China printers are simply biding their time on implementing POD. It boils down to a simple case of extending their expertise and making the investment if the volume and demand are right. After all, these suppliers are known entities with proven track records. Offering hybrid manufacturing—say, digital text printing with traditional case production or with special binding accompanied by all the embellishments—is not a big stretch. Neither is printing short runs of coursebooks or novels for immediate distribution in the Asia Pacific region on behalf of North American and European publishers.
Better and Faster
While publishers are slashing inventories and looking everywhere to cut costs, print manufacturers are thinking just-in-time production and higher efficiencies. The latest presses from Heidelberg, MAN Roland, Mitsubishi, KBA and Komori are faster, slimmer and sleeker. Komori sheet-fed presses, for instance, sport double-story configurations as the answer to space constraints. Heidelberg, meanwhile, offers inline UV or aqueous coating units and CutStar reel-to-sheet systems for faster production turnaround, while KBA wowed China Print 2009 attendees with medium-format Rapida presses aimed at meeting market demands for specific trim sizes. In the postpress area, Muller Martini's latest automatic saddle-stitching and adhesive binding lines are targeted at increasing product quality while further reducing manual handling.
In many ways, continuous investment in newer and better models makes perfect sense. After all, older presses use technologies that were conceived when environmental factors or short runs did not figure in the equation. They also require more manual labor and have longer make-ready and downtime. Higher efficiencies in both hardware and software—we can't have one without the other—are therefore crucial to meeting new market demands. The degree of automation and modernity is apparent at any Hong Kong/China printing facility. (Remember those old and cramped factories of the 1970s and 1980s?)
More publishers, meanwhile, are opting for on-screen proofs instead of wasting paper, time and money on physical proofs. Aside from the green impact, it also speaks loudly of the standards of calibration that spur such trust. Fifteen years ago e-mail was barely used for communication, whereas now transferring humongous files through FTP hardly merits a second thought. Teleconferencing in lieu of face-to-face meetings and plant visits is also common, especially with publishers cutting down on travel (unless it is directly linked to the bottom line).
However, all these put more responsibility on print suppliers to self-monitor quality standards, production progress and delivery schedules. These savvy suppliers, who are used to plying goods and services across cultural, language, time-zone and geographic barriers, are quick to respond with faster feedback via e-mail to make clients feel closer to the action and less jittery about the loss of direct control.
Play Safe
Meanwhile, the U.S. CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act), enacted in August 2008, is raising havoc with children's publishers and suppliers. Questions on labeling requirements (stating the manufacturing source of each book and print run), protocols for lead and phthalate testing and management of older books are lingering. Publishers and their print suppliers are waiting to see if ink-on-paper and ink-on-board books will be exempted from this law, or if only those poor souls dealing with novelty books need to worry about going gray with each new title.
You could say that the $2.3 million fine slapped on toy maker Mattel and its Fisher-Price subsidiary for importing and selling toys with excessive lead levels was a wakeup call. Publishers are now shelling out big money to closely monitor product development and meticulous safety tests—so much so that budgets and printing schedules go haywire. To be sure, paranoia has led to overtesting and overanalysis. But who wants to be fined $100,000 per violation on top of the huge cost of a product recall?
The various safety requirements demanded by the U.S. (in accordance with CPSIA) and other countries or regions have put tremendous pressures on commercial testing laboratories: queues are long and tests take even longer. In-house testing laboratories have become an essential part of many children's book manufacturers in Hong Kong/China. Most of these labs are capable of conducting tests for lead, phthalate and other common health hazards—the key to faster product development and, if required, redesign.
Speaking of health hazards, print suppliers have also been paying more attention to the welfare of their workers. Social awareness and social responsibility are becoming central to running a company. And more than ever, clients are not just asking what products or services are offered, but also what values the company stands for and what it does for its staff.
It follows that Hong Kong/China suppliers are busy looking beyond the immediate profit. Some have set up study grants and apprenticeships for students pursuing print-related courses at local universities, while others have established charities to help local communities or started tree-planting initiatives. On the production floor, OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) 18001, SA (Social Accountability) 8000 and ICTI (International Council for Toys Industry) standards have long been implemented and strict adherence is widespread. These suppliers do not operate sweatshops.
Everything Adds Up
In short, the changes taking place in the industry, publishing or print manufacturing, offer players opportunities to redefine themselves. Yes, money is tight, but bad times (like good times) don't last forever. Keeping investments aligned with emerging market trends is a smart thing to do, and Hong Kong/China print manufacturers are doing exactly that. They continue to carry out research and development on more innovative secondary processes or creative products to offer clients, or develop new technology or methodology that will expedite the printing process.
The multifaceted roles that print manufacturers have to play—eco-warrior, tech-geek, children's protector, creative thinker, logistics expert, to mention a few—are made possible by their sound business fundamentals and their strong will to be relevant. But print suppliers can't do all this by themselves. Publishers have to share the responsibilities (and costs). And together, no market changes will be too big to handle.
