Our Environment

We are all responsible for protecting the environment and for minimising our impact on it.

Here’s what we are doing at LEA Printers to help reduce our environmental impact, we are a FSC® certified printer (SGS-COC-005415), this helps us and our customers sustain our environment. We have looked at all aspects of the print production process to identify where there are opportunities to reduce environmental impact:

Comply with environmental legislation and reduce pollution wherever practicable.
Pursue regular programs of maintenance and repair in order to maintain energy efficiency as well as reduction of harmful emissions to atmosphere.
Seek opportunities to minimize waste by efficient use of raw materials and by reuse and recycling of unavoidable wastes.
Commit to the continuous improvement of waste management practices, to take effort to minimize avoidable waste, guided by consideration of both value for money and the environmental benefits of options for each waste type and ensure that materials no longer required are managed according to the following:

Reduce at Source – by using and discarding less material generally, segregating wastes and asking suppliers to take back packaging and re-usable containers.

Re-use and repair – by using re-usable chemicals and equipment, passing on to others and repairing preference to replacing where appropriate.

Recycle– by separating for recycling, such as mixed waste paper, cardboard, cans and printer consumables.

Responsible disposal – Complying with Environmental Protection Act 1990, and Duty of Care Regulations 1991.

Aim to use, wherever practicable, materials, the production of which is ecologically sustained and recyclable.
Promote an awareness and understanding of environmental issues, particularly in relation to the incorporation of such issues into the company.

Show your customers and your workforce that you care!

Using LEA Printers, an FSCcertified printer and user of approved papers and boards, means that your printed products can carry the FSC logo showing your organisation is actively promoting the use of responsibly managed materials.

What about recycled papers and boards?

We offer a wide range of recycled papers and boards to meet even the most stringent quality and environmental standards. We should point out though, that the term ‘Recycled’ can be applied to papers or boards containing only 50% recycled waste and there are many grades and qualities to choose from. The majority contain a proportion of virgin pulp and it is important to know where this pulp has come from. The FSC COC program enables you to be sure of its origin.

What about Chlorine Free papers and boards?

Traditionally, most paper products were bleached using elemental chlorine gas. Because of the impact of chlorine related dioxins polluting water courses and because of chlorine’s damage to the ozone layer, the use of chlorine has been reduced.

Elemental Chlorine Free papers and boards

Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) papers and boards are bleached using chlorine dioxide and use much less chlorine in the bleaching process. The ECF process has eliminated dioxins from mill effluents and threat to water courses and to the ozone layer.

Totally Chlorine Free papers and boards

Other bleaching methods, such as oxygen bleaching have been developed to replace chlorine completely and LEA Printers can offer customers high quality, white coated and uncoated papers that are Totally Chlorine Free (TCF).

Vegetable based printing inks

LEA Printers only uses vegetable based printing inks rather than traditional petroleum based inks. Inks made from soy and vegetable oils have much lower environmental impact. They can reduce worker exposure to potentially harmful VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) as vegetable based inks only contain about 1/10th of the VOC’s present in petroleum based ink.

Alcohol Free printing

LEA Printers has taken the leap to run alcohol free, meaning isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) to be removed from fount solutions.

To further reduce our environmental impact we also use:

Soya based inks
Internet technology to receive orders, artwork, and deliver PDF proofs, eliminating unnecessary road journeys
Approved contractors for the safe disposal of chemicals and chemical waste
Approved contractors for the disposal and recycling of waste paper
Environmentally friendly chemicals are used wherever they exist