Yesterday a client asked about the “green” practices of the Nomadic Press and wanted to know if I was adopting any.

I was a little taken aback.

For the first 7 years that Emily (my friend and wife) and I owned the building which houses The Nomadic Press, we lived in the apartment above the print shop. My morning and evening commute involved 17 stairs.

Gallons of gas used – Zero.

The Print shop was built in 1914 using brick which was fired in a kiln a little over a mile away.

Energy used to transport building materials – Very little.

Upon arriving at work I fire up one of my printing presses. The newest was manufactured 52 years ago while the oldest has been cranking out prints for 126 years.

Number of equipment upgrades in the course of a century – Zero.

On an average job I’ll use fewer than a dozen sheets to make the run ready, and at times print the entire edition using the presses foot treadle to power it.

Paper waste and energy used in production – Next to nothing.

Vines that we planted cover the building and keep it cool in the summer while a willow tree that we put into the ground years ago soaks up the runoff from the roof.

Air conditioning and waste water treatment costs – Zero.

I mix my own inks and mix only as much as I need for any given job.

Weather permitting I deliver finished work on a scooter.

Though to be truthful, I do listen to a lot of music while I’m working. And since hand cranked Victrolas don’t put out the volume I like, I do keep a good stereo in the shop.

Some compromises have to be made.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 9:19 am and is filed under Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.