Printers perform functions as diverse as printing brochures, decals on T-shirts, and labels for cans of soup, as well as publishing books and daily newspapers. More than 80 percent of printers are small businesses, employing fewer than 20 employees and many employing fewer than five. Lithographic printers comprise the single largest group of printers throughout Nebraska and the United States. Sheet-fed lithography, the printing process utilized by most lithographic printers, involves first rendering the image to be printed a flat surface so that it will retain ink in some areas and repel ink in others. Individual sheets then are pressed onto the rendered surface where they receive the printed image.
Printers produce waste as part of the printing process.
In addition to the paper itself, inks and other materials impressed on this paper can be a major source of pollution. The Federal Pollution Prevention Act became law in November 1990, signed by President George Bush. Most have neither the time nor the resources to research which chemicals, processes, and technologies meet EPA objectives of pollution prevention and environmental friendliness. Although large firms frequently hire legal and environmental professionals to deal with these issues, small printers simply cannot afford the cost. That means that they must seek assistance from other printers, material manufacturers and vendors, or government agencies.