Page 411 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

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PRINTING AND PUBLISHING

APPLICATIONS

29.1 Industry Overview

NAICS code: all 32300s

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

37,532 publishing operations in the United States
715,777 employees
$95.7 billion in annual sales
3.6 tons of solid waste generation per employee
Major waste streams: paper

The printing and related support activities subsector produces print products, such
as newspapers, books, labels, business cards, stationery, business forms, and other
materials, and performs support activities, such as data imaging, plate-making serv-
ices, and bookbinding. The support activities included here are an integral part of the
printing industry, and a product (a printing plate, a bound book, or a computer disk
or file) that is an integral part of the printing industry is almost always provided by
these operations.
Processes used in printing include a variety of methods used to transfer an image
from a plate, screen, film, or computer file to some medium, such as paper, plastics,
metal, textile articles, or wood. The most prominent of these methods is to transfer the
image from a plate or screen to the medium (lithographic, gravure, screen, and flexo-
graphic printing). A rapidly growing new technology uses a computer file to directly
“drive” the printing mechanism to create the image and new electrostatic and other
types of equipment (digital or nonimpact printing).

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