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Building a More Sustainable Print Paradigm
6 May, 2010 By: Cyrena Respini-IrwinWith help from Océ, HGA Architects and Engineers is reconciling its demand for large-format printing with its commitment to environmental stewardship.
In recent decades, technology's march has yielded new ways of visualizing and communicating designs: e-mail, PDF files, expansive monitors, touch-sensitive display surfaces. Despite the proliferation of electronic options, however, print remains an integral part of the building process, from conceptualization through construction. "There's just a time when you need a piece of paper," said Patrick Thibaudeau, vice-president of HGA Architects and Engineers. "Print facilitates a different kind of communication."
HGA, a full-service firm that incorporates architecture, engineering, interior design, and landscape architecture, has a constant need for communication — with clients, contractors, and among its half-dozen offices. It does so by employing a combination of electronic and print methods, Thibaudeau said. "We use each of those for their maximum benefit ... they both have their place."
Printed documents encourage interaction and collaboration, Thibaudeau explained, especially when large groups of project participants need to evaluate and mark up a design. Viewers can also scan printed designs quickly and take in more information than they can through a monitor's "narrow viewport," he said. "Somehow that helps people's understanding, helps them conceive of the entirety of [the design]." This attribute is especially useful at the beginning and end of the design process, Thibaudeau noted, when working with clients who are new to visualizing designs or with submittals for construction. In addition, he explained, print retains its relevance for a more prosaic reason: "The legal contract is still the hard-copy printout [of the building design] that's got a wet signature on it."
Alongside its dependence on printing, HGA has a deep commitment to sustainability — a business need and an ethic that seemingly conflict with each other. To help reconcile the two, a growing HGA partnered with printing solutions provider Océ to implement new monochrome and color printing and scanning equipment and workflows.
Technological Evolution
Although the usefulness of printouts has not changed — HGA relies on them for everything from concept presentations to graphic mock-ups to mark-ups — the technology that produces them has evolved. "The cost of printing in color has improved, and the systems to do so are more accessible," Thibaudeau noted. High-production, small-format machines are even able to take high-quality color production from the office to the job site.
The decrease in cost has also spurred an increase in prevalence. "There used to be more centralization of printing; now more people can print," Thibaudeau continued. With that capability widespread throughout its partners and stakeholders, HGA can transmit more files electronically. "We're just changing who's doing the printing, in many cases," said Thibaudeau. That change brings its own benefits, however: faster transit and decreased reliance on vehicles to transfer materials.
Printing technology has also become more energy-efficient and safer. Thibaudeau explained that the Océ machines that HGA now uses are Energy Star–compliant, power themselves down when not in use, and use nontoxic toner. Most of them print on recycled paper as well.
A Partnership on Paper
It's been five years since HGA — which used to lease its printing equipment through a facilities management firm — began evaluating Océ solutions to meet its growing needs. In that time, HGA has purchased almost a dozen Océ machines, including large-format color and monochrome printers (models TCS500, TCS 400, TDS800, TDS600, and VarioPrint 2110) and a color scanner (TDS450).
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About the Author: Cyrena Respini-Irwin
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