Read more about manroland | Goss and them being a partner of the Blue Competence
sustainability initiative
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Step 4 - Print manufacturing
Working alongside
environmentally focused businesses
It is important to work with a print partner who is staying at the forefront of technology enhancements. With many competing marketing and advertising options and digital offerings that are instantly measurable with analytics, printed products must continually prove their worth and demonstrate a solid return on investment. Also, with sustainability as a focus there is a misconception that print products are damaging to the environment and digital processes are guilt free!
At Acorn we have been on a journey of continued investment with £12m spent over the last 7 years on 10 new projects including machines, software, robotics, or general plant improvement. At each step the assessment and feasibility is scrutinised for new customer benefits, productivity gains, cost reduction, energy reduction, and carbon reduction. Below are the details of 4 strategic process investments and how they have helped us keep the cost of our products low and cut our impact on the environment.
Text Production
32pp manroland
Goss Lithoman web press:
Installed in 2019 this this state-of-the-art press has a significantly reduced carbon impact due to technological improvements in its drive systems, improved drying efficiencies, and the use of free cooling within the chilling system.
The multi camera closed loop colour system and dynamic cut-off control of the Lithoman 32pp reduces to a minimum the amount of paper required to print magazine, catalogue, and brochure text sections. Since its installation this has saved on average 660 tonnes of paper waste each year. Only one other UK business has this web press capability, as the wider market hasn’t kept pace with such technology improvements.
How this reduces our environmental impact:
Improved drive
system technology
Enhanced
drying efficiencies
Free cooling
within the chilling system
Cover Production
Komori G37
Sheetfed litho press:
This brand-new asset installed in Nov 2025 offers at least a 30% productivity increase, due to shorter make ready times and faster running speeds. The quality system of the press uses an inline camera that scans each individual sheet of paper at 1 million lines per minute, comparing the print produced to the customers supplied PDF. It also automatically checks for defects or density variation.
To support Acorn’s sustainability aims the press is a compact SRA1+ size that not only uses smaller, less wasteful plate and blanket sizes, but it requires significantly less energy than a conventional B1 size press. The reduction in energy consumption is further supported due to UV LED drying and inks and the amount of paper waste needed to set up, and run is a fraction of the outgoing cover press.
30%*
productivity increase due to shorter make ready times & faster running speeds
The impacts on our sustainable goals
Compact SRA1+ format
Smaller plate and blanket sizes
Less energy usage than a B1 press
UV LED drying
Reduced paper and ink waste
Learn more of how Muller Martini commits to the 12 Sustainability Guidelines of the Mechanical Engineering Industry through the “Blue Competence” initiative
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Finishing
Muller Martini Bravo & Prima Saddle Stitching Lines
In late 2022 and early 2023 the investment of two high speed stitching lines increased our productivity by 32% and it also helped limit unsustainable rising agency labour costs.
Whilst print finishing often accounts for less than 2% of the whole carbon output of a job, in the wider context by removing temporary labour and replacing it with the ability to automatically stream feed text sections into the machine’s hoppers, this reduced the number of staff commuter miles to the factory.
Reduced reliance on rising
agency labour costs
Automatic stream feeding
reduces temp labour costs
Fewer commuter miles,
lowering carbon footprint
Learn more of how Muller Martini commits to the 12 Sustainability Guidelines of the Mechanical Engineering Industry through the “Blue Competence” initiative
Find out more
Pallet Presentation
Civiemme Cobot
To further target the reduction of rising unsustainable labour cost removing on average 2 persons from the palletising of a job and improving the presentation of pallets Acorn installed a robotic bundle stacker.
See this live in action here
Supporting Responsible Print and Environmental Initiatives
To help customers make an informed choice or hold a fact-based balanced discussion about whether to choose print manufacturing or digital marketing alternatives, Acorn is also a member of several environmentally aware organisations. These include the BPIF our print trade association, Two Sides the not-for-profit, global initiative promoting the unique sustainable and attractive attributes of print, paper and paper packaging. Print Green founded to champion the sustainable credentials of the print industry, and by offering carbon balanced papers that support the World Land Trust.
To show that such collaboration coupled with our manufacturing efforts are making a quantifiable difference, our certified carbon reduction plan demonstrates that our carbon output has fallen by more than 20% across scope 1, 2, & 3 measures. View Acorn’s carbon reduction plan here
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