Media Release – January 30, 2007
ATTN: NEWS / BUSINESS EDITORS
The American Chamber of Commerce has set an example of helping to reduce pollution by gradually shifting printing jobs to an environmentally friendly company.
Green Production (Overseas) Limited, which began printing the Chamber's monthly magazine in July 2004, will also be printing its Members Directory, Living in Hong Kong and Establishing an Office in Hong Kong this year.
The company is the first Hong Kong printer granted the FSC-COC certificate in recognition of its support for the growth of responsible forest management worldwide. It is also the only FSC-COC-certified printer in Hong Kong to use 100 percent soyabean ink and the Computer-to-Plates (CTP) system in printing.
Changing its official printer not only helps save the environment but also money, according to AmCham Publishing Manager Michael Chau, saying GreenPro charges between 10 to 20% less than AmCham used to pay.
GreenPro Director Dicky Choy explained that savings are achieved by using the CTP system, which does not require any film and prints directly from the computer.
As solutions used in preparing these films contain toxic heavy metals such as silver and lead, eliminating the filmmaking step plays an essential part in reducing pollution, Choy said.
Computerization also helps cut the required manpower by 80 percent and accelerates the production speed by half, he added.
However, only 20 to 30 percent of printers in Hong Kong have adopted the CTP system so far because it is expensive and requires more sophisticated software knowledge for application, Choy said.
He said the cost-reduction incentive is not strong enough to many who order printing jobs because companies that prepare such films have greatly reduced charges to increase their competitive edge.
Michael Chau noted that with GreenPro, he found it more convenient to make last-minute changes before publications go to print.
"They only need to edit templates on the computer instead of preparing another film. That really speeds things up," he said.
Chau also complemented the company for its meticulous customer services and delivering printed copies on time.
Switching to such an environmentally friendly company is in line with recent pledges by AmCham's new chairman Gary Clinton to advocate for action to improve the environment, which tops AmCham priorities for 2007 together with financial services, Chau added.
For inquiries, please contact AmCham's Press Affairs Manager, Ms Pamela Ngai, on 2530-6915, or by email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .