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Printing PILs: keeping it green while navigating a changing world

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Managing director Alan Ryan, owner of Technoprint, a UK independent supplier of patient information leaflets (PILs), outlines some of the ways the business makes sure it stays ahead of the game when it comes to sustainability. From credentials to E-PILs, Alan delves deeper into the topic of leaflets, packaging and sourcing products sustainability.

Key insights:

Sustainability is a hot topic across the board and the printing industry is no different. Businesses from SMEs to large corporations are feeling the pressure to make sure they are green and have squeaky clean environmental and CSR strategies.

Growing patient information leaflets

One packaging challenge faced by Technoprint over the past decade has been the growing level of information required on patient information leaflets. Despite the need for bigger leaflets, the requirement is to still fit these leaflets into the same size packaging as the smaller leaflet.

Alan explains: “It can be complex and costly for customers to change the size of packaging, as well as potentially having more impact on the environment. So one thing we’ve had to adapt to is making sure they can still use the existing packaging even when the leaflets have changed. Legal requirements mean that text size must be readable, and spacing is right, yet there’s much more text to be included on the leaflets. As well as this, our customers will have one type of packaging that will be sent across the world, so the leaflets must include various languages, as changing leaflets and packaging by country is once again a logistical nightmare for them.

“We’ve addressed this issue in a couple of ways. Firstly, sourcing and using one of the most lightweight papers on the market, Pharmalite. There are not many commercial printers that can handle paper that is less than 60 grams but using papers that are more like 45 to 50 grams like Pharmalite has lots of advantages. This kind of paper requires particular skill and machinery, as well as the right conditions. Lightweight paper means that all the information can fit onto larger paper whilst the packaging, weight, transport etc does not have to change.”

Transportation is of course another factor when it comes to sustainability, and one that will be addressed later in the article.

Alan continues: “Handling, printing, folding, and guillotining lightweight paper is a specialist skill. It’s crucial that premises have 24/7 365 days a year humidity control to prevent any paper being spoilt, as if it does get bowed or bent it can be difficult to print on at high speed and folding becomes almost impossible. We’ve also introduced tagserts, self-adhesive labels to hold leaflets closed so they fit into the packaging.”

Credentials

Technoprint has found having the right credentials in place is crucial, not only for the sake of the environment but also for obtaining new clients.

Alan explains: “We’ve found a lot of our customers are facing the task of reducing their packaging and waste and there’s a lot of talk around how to achieve this and it’s something we work closely with clients on.

“We’ve always valued the importance of having environmental credentials and we are proud to have obtained them. ISO 14001 and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) are the main ones for us. They show that our paper and products are sourced ethically and responsibly, we’re committed to the environment having PS9000 and that any packaging we use falls in-line with good manufacturing practises.”

Technoprint has also been awarded an EcoVardis gold sustainability rating, meaning that it has been assessed in the four areas of environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement and has scored highly across the board.

Alan continues: “We’ve made lots of adaptions and small changes over the years in order to obtain these kinds of high standard accreditations, for example our leaflets used to be packed open top trays that are shrink wrapped but we changed to integrated trays which have a single waste stream that is recyclable about five years ago and this is something that our clients appreciate.”

Buying British

Alan says he’s seen a shift in the industry of late, with more businesses choosing to buy British in order to save on fuel and travel costs as well as reducing air miles and the impact on the environment.

“Our customers are recognising more and more that sourcing locally can be more cost effective, especially after the UK left the EU. Sourcing locally of course means travel time and fuel consumption is reduced which is always good for the environment. One example is a recent vape customer of ours that have brought their production from China into the UK. There are on-going supply chain issues everywhere, but being an independent business means we’ve been able to keep on top of supplies and keep customers happy, which is always a positive thing!”

Looking to the future

Alan concludes: “Businesses need to constantly adapt to keep up with supply and demand. We recently updated our machines to allow for a bigger sheet size, for example. I think the pharma industry as a whole has a long way to go though, e-PILs are sometimes spoken about, to reduce the use of paper, but nobody has found a way to properly introduce these across the board safely. Paper is, and always will be, the fool proof solution.”

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