BOCA feels that all businesses
have the responsibility of doing their part to protect and
maintain the earth’s environment. We regularly evaluate the
latest technologies for ways to reduce both our energy usage
and our total impact on the environment. The following
discusses the decisions we have made in regard to ticket
manufacturing in the interest of operating in the most
environmentally friendly manner.
Prepress Process
All printing plates are
manufactured in house with the latest digital, chemical free
process. Our plates are laser-etched, thereby, eliminating
the hazardous chemical solvents frequently used in the
printing plate manufacturing process.
Inks
BOCA uses water-based,
flexographic inks to minimize the environmental impact.
Paper
All of our thermal paper is
sourced from a company that has taken a leadership role with
respect to environmental issues. The paper is sourced
exclusively from forests observing sustainable growth
guidelines in compliance with the Sustainable Forestry
Initiative, an independent environmental organization that
creates guidelines to insure the perpetual growth and
harvesting of trees while assuring the protection of
wildlife, plants, soil, water and air quality. Our paper
vendor meets the carbon reduction targets of the Chicago
Climate Exchange. In fact, approximately 65% of the energy
used in our paper vendor’s pulp and paper operations is
sourced from carbon neutral and renewable biomass fuels.
Other Considerations
It should be noted that a
quality thermal paper requires a very smooth printing
surface. The short fibers inherent in recycled paper create
a bumpy printing surface. A significant amount of energy is
required in order to obtain the smoothness necessary for
thermal printing. The environmental impact of the added
energy overshadows the limited environmental advantage from
using recycled paper.
Printing Process
We have begun a process of
upgrading our presses to use high speed, compressed air at
low temperatures in place of hot air dryers. The use of
lower temperature dryers reduces the total energy
consumption of our printing process. Additionally, we have
invested in improved technology and processes to reduce our
waste percentages by almost 50% over the past five years.
In addition to the reduced use of materials (paper, ink,
foil), the waste reductions result in a corresponding
reduction in the energy needed to produce the tickets.
Recycling
All of our paper-based and
synthetic materials are recyclable. Our label products may
not be recyclable. Additionally, all of our paper and
synthetic waste is collected and recycled locally.
Sincerely,
Larry Gross
Executive Vice President
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