Japan-based Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) is switching from plastic to paper to package its in-house manufactured photo-media, including ink ribbons and printing paper.

The change from petroleum-based plastic to biomass plant-based renewable resource paper is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions for the company by 69% - around 45 tons per annum.

DNP has also introduced an originally designed automated packaging machine for photo media production into the process, making it possible to achieve the same quality and lead time as when using plastic materials.

Serving industrial and commercial sectors, the company is aiming for its smaller cardboard boxes to improve logistical efficiency with easier unpackaging and space-saving in storage areas.

The latest move by DNP is the first initiative of its kind in the dye-sublimation thermal transfer photo media industry.

The company has been considering this material changeover and adoption of automated packaging since 2022 and has established a framework for this purpose.

The switch will be applied to photo media produced in Japan from May 2024, then rolled out to overseas production bases on a serial basis.

DNP corporate officer Kazuo Murakami commented: “We hope that this new initiative will help encourage everyone who uses photo media to make sustainable choices.”