Young Printers Think Green First

Atlas Print founders and co-owners Michael Wilson, age 26, and Steven Bloom, age 22.

It was my first screen printing job at a local shop that would forever change my stance on environmental production practices. I was taken under the wing of the owner, Paul Archetko, who was an ex-hippie and had been in the industry for years. Paul was heavily involved in local environmental causes, such as The Grandparents for Peace organization, which put on an annual Earth Day Celebration.

I look back at that time in my life and see that it was Paul’s struggle in reconciling the old with the new that would greatly influence just what our shop (Atlas Print, St. Augustine, Fla.) is about today. I would spend countless hours blowing out screen after screen, unaware of just how hazardous the screen reclaiming chemicals were that I was using. The time I spent doing production like this flooded my mind with ideas of what being eco-conscious really meant to me.

Paul kept two iguanas in his storefront shop. Both eventually developed tumors and were released into the wild to enjoy their last days of freedom. Eventually, Paul also developed cancer, and died in 2007 after a hard fight with the disease. At that time, we already had Atlas Print open for six years. I was taken aback by the severity of it all — Paul was my mentor and an inspiration for me.

I couldn’t say that there was a direct correlation between Paul working around chemicals for the majority of his life and then getting cancer, but it definitely made me think more about our practices in regard to our staff’s health. While Paul’s production might not have been the most eco-friendly, his passion for the support of a cleaner environment greatly impacted me. His legacy left me with the knowledge that we are part of a whole new generation in this business — a generation of screen printers with concern for environmental and social issues.

THINKING SMALL vs. BIG
For as many small- to medium-sized screen printers like us out there who genuinely care about the eco issue, there are numerous companies trying to ride the coat tails of this new “trend.” Thankfully, several of the big shops have been forced to clean up their acts through regulation compliances that are now heavily pushing forward with third-party certifications, so they are becoming more eco-efficient.

We are completely in support of these new benchmarks.  However, the green washing can actually prove to be quite grey. To be truly green is a lifestyle that requires discipline and dedication both in business and personally. We see some contradictory actions in some of the practices of some industry companies. For instance, we recently purchased a water-based discharge system for our shop.  While we felt it was great to support a company that heavily markets safer, more environmentally aware inks and other products, the shipping box that housed our new system was filled excessively with packing peanuts and shrink-wrap.

While some of the larger companies need to tweak certain production practices to get to a better place, I feel it is especially important for the smaller shops to go into the future with the new practices up front. It is the small practices that add up to the big picture of being a more efficient, cleaner operation. It could consist of everything from recycling cardboard boxes and integrating shop management software to using hand towels in place of paper towels. The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

INKS & CLEAN UP
At Atlas Print, we have implemented several things into our production cycles that help us be more environmentally conscious and self-sustainable. We print with eco-friendlier, water-based inks and they have received great response from our customers. The new water-based inks on the market are a vast improvement from the inks of the past. Since ours is a shop pushing the support of fashion garments and creative trends, water-based inks are the best choice for our production.

Using water-based ink gives that soft-hand print that is in such high demand for fashion prints, and is essential for our oversized and over-the-seam printing orders. We push for water-based over the standard plastisol ink since, in my opinion and when handled properly, these new inks are the most environmentally safe option on the market.

At Atlas Print, we also strictly use soy-based reclaiming chemicals. Since the screen printing trade is very hands-on, our health is a key issue. With so much of the cleaning and reclaiming process requiring immediate contact with the respiratory system and skin, the only logical choice was to go the safer route.

We have been using the soy products for five years, and find that they work better than the traditional, less-safe chemicals. These soy-based cleaners are much better for humans and the environment, and have proved to be less abrasive on screen mesh. Plus, they are fairly inexpensive.

ADHESIVES & SCREENS
Solvent-based adhesives contain high amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have proven to be extremely toxic. We have completely eliminated these aerosol spray cans from our production. Not only is there a major concern for the printer’s health, but the cans (which can be used up very quickly if you’re growing the volume of work you produce) all end up in a landfill somewhere.

We chose to go with a water-based bulk adhesive system. The new system contains absolutely no VOCs or solvents, accumulates 1⁄10th of the amount of dust compared to the aerosol sprays, and keeps your platen clean for a longer duration. This ultimately saves us time and money from constant platen tape changes. One 5-gallon bucket of the product provides the equivalent of 720 cans of traditional spray. Fewer cans also means fewer deliveries, which results in less waste and emissions from delivery trucks going back and forth between the supplier and our shop.

If you care about the preservation of trees and forests, why use wood frames? Believe it or not, many high-production printers still use static wood screens.  These screens warp, break and retain low mesh tension after a small amount of use.  At Atlas Print, we chose to convert our shop over to using only metal roller frames. Using these frames gives us much higher screen tensions, tighter registration and higher-quality prints compared to traditional screens.

When there is higher mesh tension, clean prints are achieved with less force and less ink is wasted since it sits on top of the garment. The great thing about using the roller frames is that they can literally last for the life of your shop. Instead of unloading all those old wood frames into the garbage truck, you simply re-screen the metal frames yourself, saving money while sparing the waste and freight.

IT’S THE SMALL THINGS
Keep in mind that it’s the small things that add up. For example, we recently had a custom-length emulsion scoop coater made wide enough to use on our standard screens and oversized screens. By doing this, we cut our screen tape consumption completely in half.

We are a new generation of decorated apparel entrepreneurs who feel very passionately about succeeding through a business that is conscious of its output on the environment.

This is a new era with a new way of thinking about how individuals directly impact the earth and its people. 

Michael Wilson is co-founder and co-owner of Atlas Print, St. Augustine, Fla. This is his first article for Impressions. For more information or to comment on this article, visit atlasprint.com