A Dash of Green

The Gaithersburg, Maryland-headquartered Herron Printing & Graphics started more than 25 years ago as a quick printing franchise. Today, it is a 6,000-square-foot building that makes its business printing available to all types of customers, especially the hospitality industry, and is dedicated to making its company as environmentally friendly as possible. Creative director Randy Herron said Herron Printing set its sights on becoming a greener company about five years ago. The initial moves were small, but impactful. These measures included changing lights, recycling paper and cardboard and using vegetable-based inks. Then, three years ago, the company discarded its traditional four-color press and installed a Presstek DI, which is a chemical-free, waterless press that uses vegetable-based inks. Furthermore, all of the electricity used in the shop is 100 percent wind-powered. Finally, last year Herron added the environmentally friendly digital press, the Canon 7000.