Printing

Although small commercial printers typically employ fewer than 10 people per shop, there are hundreds of printing establishments across Massachusetts. These printing businesses can use chemicals potentially harmful to workers and the environment.

In Massachusetts, print shops must comply with the Department of Environmental Protection's Environmental Results Program for air quality, industrial wastewater and hazardous waste. They also pay a fee of a few hundred dollars annually.

TURI has provided grants to support the purchase of equipment that allows printers to reduce or eliminate the use of toxic chemicals:

• Minuteman Press of Foxboro now uses digital printing equipment, eliminating the use of 20 gallons of solvent naptha annually. Not only do they enjoy a safer and healthier work environment, they also have no need for solvent use, storage, or disposal.
• Becks Printing in North Adams purchased an embroidery machine in place of a screen printing machine that would have required extensive chemical use in inks and cleaning solutions.