The loneliness of the long distance printer

Tony Laycock talks to Mark Fairbrass, chairman and owner of Beacon Press, about the perils and the profits of environmental printing.

Nowadays, Mark Fairbrass presides over a sizeable print works, but, like many a successful printer, he started small: a one-man operation, his workshop the garage of his house in Maidstone. That was in the mid 70s; the business grew and prospered, and he now employs over 60 people on an industrial estate outside Uckfield, in East Sussex.

And that would be pretty much all there was to say of a nice little success story - had it not been for the intervention of Mark’s daughter, who came home from school one day in the mid-80s, full of concern for the fate of the planet. It set her father thinking: what impact was he having on it all? Could he hope to run a viable business without at the same time damaging the environment his daughter - and increasingly he himself - was so concerned about?

"It took a lot of research", Mark recalls now, "and I felt pretty much on my own. There wasn’t exactly a lot of information lying around to tell you how to green a print works!"

But Fairbrass persisted, and found it was striking a chord with many of his staff, too.

They turned their attention to everything from solvents and paper waste to energy and ink - and as a result found themselves making literally dozens of changes to the way they worked.

For example, everything from the flushing system in the loos to the automatic light switches is designed to reduce energy use. In November, Beacon shifted its electricity supplies to renewable sources, via the Ecotricity company. A display case, itself made from recovered wood and an item of particular joy to Fairbrass, exhibits the 16 items of waste now regularly recycled by the company. And Beacon has recently teamed up with Future Forests to sponsor the planting of 650 trees to help offset its carbon emissions.

But it is on the shop floor where Beacon’s efforts become really impressive. Waterless printing has eliminated the use of industrial alcohol and cut water use by half. New equipment now recycles 95% of the solvent, which is then reused in the production process. Vegetable-based inks have entirely replaced conventional mineral ones that were rich in polluting petroleum distillate.

It’s a journey that has seen Beacon pick up a raft of awards, and a reputation as the country’s leading printer in terms of environmental quality. It’s driven by Fairbrass’s belief that environmental degradation "affects every man, woman and child in the world, no matter how rich or poor you are or where you live". But, crucially, it also makes sound business sense. "This is all about building a responsible company. That means being financially responsible, too. And everything we have done here has actually saved us money."

And earned it, too. "Holding the environmental lead is a terrific marketing tool", says Mark, pointing to the company’s success in winning contracts to print environmental reports for 20 major companies, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, BP, EMI and Kingfisher. "More and more major companies now realise they have to green their supply chain, so they want to be able to say their literature is printed in the greenest possible way. Consequently they look for printers with an active environmental policy."

At present, though, there are not that many to choose from. Not least, thinks Fairbrass, because of the lack of readily available help and advice. "There needs to be much more practical guidance for printers on how to set up a simple environmental management system. There are others taking up the cause but, as we were, they are pretty well on their own. To be honest there is a distinct lack of leadership within the industry on environmental issues."

The fact that so many printers run very small businesses is a major obstacle. "They are all short of time, and in business time equals money." And environmental innovation inevitably involves some hefty upfront costs. Beacon, explains Mark, had to absorb high capital investment in technology, new machinery and staff training. At the same time Fairbrass had to pitch his prices to customers at a realistic level during a period of squeezed profit margins. It was not an easy balancing act, even for a company with a £6 million turnover. "Without some kind of financial incentive, many of the smallest firms can barely afford to take basic measures, let alone the necessary investment to do more."

Tax breaks, possibly in the form of a reduction in business rates, for firms achieving environmental standards, he argues, could start the ball rolling. "It doesn’t have to be a lot - just some encouragement so people can see there is a practical point in doing something." In the long run, says Mark, it should pay off. "Life on the environmental edge can be lonely, but the business benefits outweigh the isolation."

It might not be so lonely for long, though. More than a few of Beacon’s fellow printers are starting to make environmental strides of their own, not least in order to win a share of this growing market. It’s a prospect that doesn’t seem to trouble Fairbrass. "We have always taken the view it doesn’t do any harm for the rest of the industry to catch up with us - they’ve got a long way to go! I come from several printing generations - my father and grandfather were printers - so I suppose I have a view of the industry as a whole, not just Beacon. And I’d be proud if we could say the printing industry was environmentally responsible - I would get quite a kick out of that!"

8 September 2006