International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST)

A Critical Analysis of Environmental Health and Safety Practices in the Modern Printing Industry

This research is intended to provide more detail and a more realistic view of what happens at a medium-sized company engaged in the digital printing process in terms of environmental health and safety practices. This research will evaluate different aspects of everyday life for production employees including producing printed materials that are done on a digital printing machine; cutting paper into pieces, laminating items, binding and finishing printed work, storing goods used in production, using cleaning supplies, and shipping goods out. All of these areas of study contain environmental and employee risk that are created by expected fast delivery of goods, being under pressure to keep production machinery operational, and being close to the powered or mechanical devices that run the machines, along with having direct contact with electronic devices and materials used to print, such as toner or ink, and dust from cutting sheets of paper. By identifying many of the circumstances listed above, this research aims to illustrate that a printing company can maintain a strong level of productivity and still require more attention to the safety, health, and environmental issues associated with that level of productivity.