For the last five years, CarbonQuota has been working with many businesses in the print industry to find ways to make practices more sustainable. Through its tracking software, it can explain in simple detail how a company could to reduce its environment impact. With big names like HP, Spandex, Fujifilm and Soyang as partners, assistant editor Benjamin Austin quizzed founders Nathan Tiller (NT) and Dominic Harris (DH) to find out more.

What is your goal?

(NT): In the short term, we want to help every business understand and communicate their sustainability credentials. (DH) In the long term, our goal is for every printer to use our automated technology to measure and reduce their carbon footprint.

What product features do you promote?

(DH): Our automation integrates seamlessly with many of the software platforms already used in the wide-format sector. For example, users can access instant carbon footprint data within systems like Clarity Software, Pace, Tharstern, Radius, Technique, Nubium, PrintVis, PrintIQ, Phoenix, Cloudprinter, Element, and Enfocus Switch.

Where did the idea of CarbonQuota come from?

(DH): We both have long-standing careers in the print industry, and recognised the urgent need for change. While working with a major brand, we were asked to provide deeper carbon data on printed products, and that marked the beginning of CarbonQuota.

Sustainability is becoming an ever-growing buzzword for the wide-format print industry. How does CarbonQuota help with that?

(DH): Simply put, carbon measurement is the universal metric for assessing a product’s environmental impact. We’ve automated this process, enabling businesses to easily compare and reduce their footprint.

Through our integration partner network, we are making it a seamless process to quickly and accurately calculate and share carbon footprint data with clients via estimates and invoices to enable more informed decisions.

What details does your software and data uncover? And how can it be used to help producers with their carbon footprint?

(DH): Our software enables full lifecycle comparisons – covering raw materials, transport, equipment types, inks, and end-of-life scenarios. Many customers in the wide-format industry now require LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) or EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) data. One of our clients recently secured a major contract specifically because they could provide this level of detail.

We see many press releases come in discussing new partnerships being created with CarbonQuota. Why are these important, and how do you work with these partners to help the industry?

(DH): Our technology partners are vital because they allow printers to continue using their existing software – no training required – while receiving fully automated carbon data within their current workflows. No separate systems, no spreadsheets, no errors.

We’re proud to work with forward-thinking businesses like Nuneaton Signs, XG Group, The Sign Group, Kolorcraft, Arc-UK, Augustus Martin, and Fero.

(NT): We also work with space owners such as Global Media (TfL) and global brands such as STUDIOCANAL, who are looking for their suppliers to provide full transparency of their carbon footprint.

What are CarbonQuota’s thoughts on sustainability? Wide-format printing is, by its nature, a wasteful industry, so why is the group looking to change that?

(DH): The large-format industry is undergoing a sustainability revolution. We know this because we’re actively working with manufacturers of equipment, materials, and inks – and they’re keeping us very busy. A great example is our collaboration with HP, where product carbon footprints will soon be automated.
While the industry may have a reputation for waste, there are huge opportunities to reduce environmental impact through material choices, recycling, and reuse. But most importantly, the industry must start measuring. As the saying goes, you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

(NT): We are not afraid to say that wide-format has a significant environmental impact. However, it’s a buoyant and exciting sector which is not going anywhere. What end brands are looking for is honesty from their suppliers, and we have lots of evidence that suppliers who provide data about their environmental impact win more business as a result. Ultimately, this transparency creates conditions for clients and suppliers to work together to make businesses more sustainable.

How important is it to be seen as environmentally friendly?

(DH): Businesses that think sustainability isn’t important must be living under a rock. It’s a mindset issue. We see many printers being pushed by their customers, especially those working with the government, retail, construction, events, or transport sectors. Of course, someone printing a poster for a local barber might not feel that same pressure. But the direction of travel is clear: sustainability is becoming a business imperative.

(NT): One of the most important things we do is help with communication. This sector will never be considered environmentally friendly, so that’s not a phrase we suggest people use. Instead, we’re here to help you have an honest conversation and lead you and your customers to products that have a lower environmental impact.

In the most recent Widthwise survey, more than 50% of companies suggested it was important to appear environmentally friendly; however, only 15% of those asked said sustainability was a priority. What does this say about the industry, and is this similar to your findings?

(DH): These findings reflect what we see every day. There’s growing awareness, but sustainability still isn’t a top priority for many. The fact that only 15% of respondents said it was a priority shows that while businesses recognise the importance of being environmentally friendly, they’re not yet acting with urgency. This aligns with our experience: many printers are waiting for customer demand or regulatory pressure before making changes.

At CarbonQuota, we’re working to shift that mindset by making sustainability practical, accessible, and commercially beneficial. By embedding carbon data directly into existing workflows, we remove the barriers – no extra systems, no complexity, just actionable insights.

We also help printers win more business by proving their environmental credentials, which turns sustainability from a cost into a competitive advantage. Our mission is to make carbon measurement second nature in the industry, so that sustainability becomes a standard, not a selling point.