I was lucky enough to have a press approval in the Chicago area that coincided with Print '09 and allowed me to attend the printing industry's largest global trade show and conference. I was especially interested in seeing the debut of GreenSpace, a 4,500-square foot section of the trade show dedicated to educating people about what sustainability is and what "going green" really means to the print industry and its customers.

With 600-plus exhibitors covering more than 17 acres of exhibit space, Print '09 was HUGE. There were installations of full web and sheet-fed presses as well as demonstrations of the latest technologies in digital and variable data printing. Big players included names like Xerox, HP, Heidelberg, Kodak and Fujifilm.

In the GreenSpace Pavilion, there were consultants on hand offering free advice, the Green Theatre where several presentations were offered on a variety of "green" topics, and a smattering of exhibitors offering environmental products and services. Neenah Paper was there, along with GuangBo Paper Products (a Chinese company offering alternative papers made from such materials as cotton, bamboo, sugar cane and even stone) and representatives from Bureau Veritas (the international certification agency), the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership and Scientific Certification Systems (a third-party certification, auditing, testing and standards group).

Interestingly, there was plenty of "green" outside the GreenSpace Pavilion — paper companies with environmental products, manufacturers with low-impact printing solutions, as well as printers and print industry vendors with sustainable alternatives.Perhaps the day will come when everyone is "green" and every business has an eye toward sustainability. Until then, we'll continue to encourage businesses to "think green" and tell their sustainability story. And we're proud to be part of an industry that's on the front line in reducing our impact on the environment.

To see a few more things I saw at the show, see the photo album on our Facebook page.