ContiTech claims reduced environmental impact of printing blankets

ContiTech Elastomer Coatings is claiming to be the world's first manufacturer to have a carbon footprint drawn up for printing blankets. According to the study, the production of ContiTech's printing blankets generates up to 70 percent less climatically detrimental CO2 emissions compared to standard printing blankets. These are the reported findings of a scientific analysis carried out by the University of East Westphalia-Lippe.

‘ContiTech is thus the innovation leader for environmental and climate protection in the field of printing blankets. With our products, we make a substantial contribution to climate-friendly printing,’ said Heiko Eymer, general manager of the Elastomer Coatings business unit.

The reduced climate footprint is said to be made possible by the calendaring process ContiTech has used to produce printing blankets for several years. The rubber is formed into a slab of the required thickness using steel rollers, so solvents need no longer be added. A further advantage is that it uses less energy than the coating process, in which a solvent is added to the rubber so that the rubber solution can be applied uniformly to a fabric to create the printing blanket. The solvent in this process is then recovered, which requires further energy.

In order to determine the carbon footprint of the two printing blankets Conti-Air Litho-HC and Phoenix Sapphire, the energy required for the entire manufacturing process was determined and converted into a comparative CO2 value. The production process uses primarily steam and electricity. The emission values for the raw materials used are also taken into account, from the extraction up to delivery to the plant, and for their pretreatment. 

Based on this calculation, the coating process generates some 10 kg of CO2 per square meter. For the Conti-Air Litho-HC printing blanket, it was possible to reduce CO2 emissions by some 70 percent compared to standard printing blankets, and by 35 percent for the Phoenix Sapphire. The scientific monitoring and certification of the CO2 footprint for printing blankets was carried out by the department of environmental engineering at the University of East Westphalia-Lippe.