This report is a summary of the environmental conservation in production and environmental management system in printing operation. Global warming and depletion of the ozone layer are related issues, being caused by the use of chemical substances and the emission of CO₂ from energy consumption in production process. Moreover, the quality of the atmosphere, water, and soil is also affected, and waste generated as a result of manufacturing could lead to a serious environmental burden.

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This report consists of the following contents, it is to say, the investigation and examination of the environmental problems in connection with printing machinery, which were prepared by JPMA during the past three years from 1997. I have studied the measures to protect environment with regard to each stage of life cycle for printing machinery from both points of view of the present condition and the future possibility. Furthermore, during this study, I have particularly pointed out issues of lubrication oil and noise, as well as vibration during the operation of printing machinery.

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Recently, the environmentally friendlier printing inks have been developed and put on the market in Japan, based on the basic action policies, which were guided by The Japan Printing Ink Manufacturers Association, aimed to eliminate environmental pollution, and offer safe products while helping to preserve people's health. In this paper, the outline of environmentally friendlier lithographic offset printing inks made by aromatic-free solvent or soy oil, and packaging gravure inks (non toluene-based or water-based) for flexible plastic film printing is introduced.

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One of the important environmental issues within the printing industry is the concern regarding the effluents resulting from the plate chemistry. ISO 14001 standard as well as the “Zero-Emission”-plan requires replacement and reduction of effluents as important steps in order to obtain the targets set. In this chapter, the technologies for a decrease of the waste volume and pollution reduction are presented. The introduction of processless plates helps to achieve the “Zero-Effluent” target regarding processing chemicals. In recent years there have been remarkable accomplishments in the development of processless plates, and a brief introduction to technological trends related to these accomplishments is also presented.

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Pulp and paper industry needs much energy and water. So, the environmental problems in pulp and paper making are mainly water and air pollution. In the past, we had many pollution-related troubles in the regions near pulp and paper mills. The effluent from pulping and paper making process contains the substances related to COD, BOD, SS and chromaticity. These substances cause water pollution. Air pollution is related to SO_X and NO_X derived from burning the fuel such as heavy oil, coal and biomass to produce steam and electric power in boiler. Recently, these problems have been eased to some extent by the technological advance and the inventive ideas of many engineers. In the near future, the ECF bleaching method may give one of the solution to the environmental problems in the pulp and paper making process. The remaining issues in future are the global environmental problem and the endocrine problem. In addition, LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) will be important and popular for both producers and consumers.

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In the photomechanical process, transparency films are generally viewed on an illuminator without an opaque border in a lighted room. This viewing condition is not common for color appearance models because a luminance of the background is approximately 200% of that of the image highlight (D=0.3) of the transparency. Using the RLAB color appearance model, two visual experiments were performed to estimate perceived color of transparencies. The first experiment was focused on perceived color contrast and designed to find a σ value of the RLAB for transparencies. In this experiment, a single σ value for reflected prints was set as 1/2.3. Thirteen σ values from 1/1.7 to 1/4.6 were assumed for transparencies. According to these conditions, thirteen reproductions were made. Using the forced choice technique, color contrast of each reproduction was evaluated under two background conditions (with/without a 10% transmittance border). Using the Probit analysis, σ values for transparencies were derived for each background condition. These σ values were 1/2.30 and 1/2.44 for without and with the border conditions, respectively. This difference was statistically significant. Using paired-comparison technique, the second experiment was performed to evaluate which σ value gave the most closely matched reproduction to the original in perceived color. Four σ values were selected according to the first experimental result. Interval scales were derived. Similar trends with the first experiment were obtained.

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The designing process of products, the workflow management of production process and the initial adjustment of production facilities require the participation of experts. It is necessary to analyze knowledge of the expert skill and to describe with a format suiting to the integration in order to imitate their high level skill. The Database AMPAC prepares the most suitable data description format for the purpose. The data in AMPAC coding include the relation between the parameters, so the inverse searching algorithm of the related parameters can be easily composed. The inverse searching is the basic procedure for initial adjustment. In this paper, it is found that the searching process for adjusting points for setting is equivalent to inverse searching of parameters related to the parameter whose value is given at initial stage of an alternation in production, such as paper thickness, paper size, ink set, or so on. First the information relating to the production process including the expert skill in the initial adjustment process is described by using AMPAC format. Next, the inverse searching is performed and the adjusting points on press machine are indicated, when an alternating parameter is given. The assist program for the initial adjustment is coded by using the platform free language JAVA, so it can be easily transferred to any site through the Internet, same as AMPAC coded data.

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There are 2 approaches to achieve good pigment dispersion in printing ink. The first is a chemical approach. It is achieved by improving the affinity of the dispersing medium to the pigment. The second is a mechanical approach. It is achieved by increasing the mechanical force to physically disperse the pigment. Such force is usually attained by dispersing mills developed by machine manufactures in cooperation with their users. Both the chemical and mechanical approaches to pigment dispersion in printing ink will be discussed here.

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