Our Environment

Latimer Trend recognises the responsibility we have as a manufacturer to safeguard the environment and is committed to do so wherever possible. In 2006, we commissioned a detailed environmental study of our factory and the land around it and this forms the reference point for all our environmental strategies.

Operating in a beautiful part of the country with our factory overlooking the Dartmoor National Park, we are perhaps more conscious than most of our natural heritage and have taken the following positive action to meet those responsibilities:

Ink Technology

In recent years, vegetable oil inks have improved greatly and now match the performance of mineral oil inks for sheet-fed litho printing. Vegetable oil inks have much lower rates of VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions than mineral oil inks and, unlike mineral oils, are derived from renewable resources. What’s more, the inks made from vegetable oils are more easily removed from waste paper during de-inking and the pigments do not usually contain heavy metals.

Latimer Trend is committed to the use of inks with high vegetable oil content wherever appropriate to the job specification.

Papers/boards

Wherever possible, Latimer Trend use FSC or PEFC approved papers which originate from well managed forests, manufactured under stringent environmental manufacturing control, and low chlorine or chlorine free.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification indicated that the wood comes from a well-managed and sustainable forest.  It guarantees that the forest(s) of origin have been independently inspected and evaluated to comply with an internationally agreed set of strict environmental, social and economic standards.

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certification provides assurance to the purchasers of this material that they are promoting the sustainable management of forests.

Press Technology

Isopropyl alcohol has been in common use in lithographic fountain solutions for many years. It is flammable, volatile, toxic and expensive, and much of it is lost during production. In 2006, Latimer Trend set itself a target of reducing the alcohol content in the fount solution on all presses from 11% down to 3% and has successfully achieved this without loss of quality. The Heidelberg 10 colour B1 press is specified to run between 3% and 0% alcohol so we are testing even lower levels of alcohol against print quality. We have been using CTP technology which removes silver oxide from the print process, for more than 5 years.  

Ink Consumption

The Heidelberg 10-colour B1 press allows ink to be pumped from storage vats direct to the presses, thus reducing our use of ink containers which are currently sent away for recycling. 

Lamination

We have recently introduced an environmentally-friendly biodegradable lamination process which is available for all our customers. At the moment, there is an additional charge for this process. Please contact us for more information.

Energy consumption

We are continually looking at ways at which we can reduce our energy consumption and recently have installed new power correction equipment to improve the efficiency of our energy useage and, therefore, reduce the overall consumption.  We have also now completed the installation of intelligent lighting throughout our production areas to further reduce our energy useage.

Other projects that are currently being considered to achieve future reductions include installation of Power Perfect to reduce our overall voltage requirements, installation of intelligent motor controls and also replacing our existing air supplies to our plant with a single central modern energy-efficient compressor.  We will continue to actively research new technology, where appropriate, to achieve further reductions in our energy useage and carbon footprint in the future.

Recycling

Much of our waste has been collected for recycling for many years and we are constantly reviewing our procedures to increase the amount of waste being sent for recycling.  All production paper waste is recycled with separate routes for white paper and coloured paper and packaging.  Plastic wrapping is also recycled separately.  In addition to these waste streams we also recycle all ink containers, chemical containers and aluminium plates as well as surplus or unuseable pallets.

Accreditation

As a result of the steps taken to safeguard our environment, Latimer Trend received accreditation to ISO 14001 Environmental Management in 2007. The aim of ISO 14001 is to promote and ensure prevention of pollution, continuous improvement of environmental performance and constant compliance with legal obligations.

Latimer Trend also holds the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody certification and are working to achieve PEFC certification as well.  These accreditations enable clients to work with Latimer Trend with complete peace of mind, safe in the knowledge that we are not contributing to global forest destruction and that all the paper we use is traceable from a managed source, through the supply chain to the end user.