Digital Printing For Sustainability And Education

Bare Branding is an open access print hub based in Leith, Scotland. From the very beginning, our objective has always been to make our professional printing facilities and know how available to the wider community. We aim to provide a welcoming space that promotes inclusion for local groups, artists and makers who can develop their projects and ideas, gaining knowledge, skills and expertise. Our motto, Making The Makers, reflects this philosophy. Along the way we've had the support of many volunteers including educators, community workers, IT professionals, artists and designers, all of whom share our passion.

Two years ago Bare Branding set out to become one of the UK's most environmentally-friendly print hubs. We realised that we had to reduce the environmental impact of our products and that to achieve this we would have to radically re-evaluate our printing processes, from design through to retail.
The areas that we identified were in tackling waste, saving energy, avoiding harmful chemicals, cutting back on plastics, extending product lifespans and switching to more eco-friendly print media. To achieve this we spent time researching new technologies and materials; we stopped making products such as PVC banners and ceased to offer services like screenprinting that we found to be wasteful.

The knowledge we gained from this process is now being passed on to our community and customers. We've been able to advise them on how they can become more eco-friendly in their approach to ordering printed products whether by encouraging them to consider smaller print runs in order to reduce the risk of waste or through highlighting the benefits of natural, biodegradeable materials like organic cotton.

One significant decision we took was to start to invest in the latest digital print technology. These energy efficient, state-of-the-art printers enable us to offer low volume, print-on-demand products that are both high quality and sustainable. For instance, our newest digital inkjet printer only uses 'print permanent' water-based inks and papers that we source from a manufacturer with strong environmental credentials. The exceptional fine art prints it produces are not throw away items. They should remain looking good for 80-200 years and will have had minimal impact on the planet over that lifetime.

We'd like to now repeat the success we've had with our inkjet print and invest in a direct-to-garment (DTG) printer. Unlike inkjet printing, DTG printing is a relatively new technology but one that progressed significantly in the last two years. The garment printing options that Bare Branding currently has all have at least one environmental drawback. The new DTG technology would solve these problems and, for the first time, would give us the ability to decorate a wide range of garment styles with full colour designs.

Many of us are becoming aware of the impact the garment industry has on our planet. The fashion industry is one of the world's major polluters. Overproduction, pesticides and synthetic fibres all contribute to this. The alternative, sustainable approach is slow fashion, a concept that is characterised by natural fibres, non-toxic dyes, fair-trade practices and low volumes. A DTG printer is ideal for this model of production allowing for small, just-in-time print runs. With its water-based inks there are no harmful chemicals and, what's more, the inks are wash-resistant, meaning garments look good for longer.

We're so confident that digital garment printing using organic cotton is a much more sustainable model that we've recently teamed up with Instant Design, also from Edinburgh, to put into practice the idea of slow fashion. Together we've created a brand called LOOP that combines stunning designs with sustainable materials. Everything in the LOOP range is made with eco-friendly organic cotton and waste is kept to a minimum as each garment is made to order.

Having this new printer will also be of huge benefit to local small businesses and community groups. It will enable artists and designers to further develop their ideas, leading to new avenues for business. And, like our other print facilities, there will be opportunities for groups to use this printer for education and training purposes.

Our vision is that other communities will be able to replicate and benefit from our model. Please help us with this by supporting our next step to becoming the most sustainable print and education facility in the UK.