The recent Earth Day was a good reminder that we should adopt a few green printing habits, and start practicing environmentally friendly techniques. As a print service, there are lots of practices you can use to contribute to a sustainable environment and keep our planet greener and cleaner.
Minimize your carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted from various human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Basically, you produce CO2 when heating your home, driving your car, or using heavy machinery.
You can reduce your carbon footprint by making energy efficiency a primary consideration when you are looking to purchase new machines or printers.
Use soy-based inks
A great way to contribute to a sustainable environment is using ink substitutes such as soy ink. As opposed to traditional petroleum-based ink, soy-based ink is far more environmentally friendly. It provides a sharper and brighter image, more accurate colors and even makes paper recycling much easier.
Opt for online printing
By adding an online printing system, you will be able to print exact or very small quantities, something that traditional printing methods simply cannot offer you. Using advanced techniques such as online printing or web-to-print systems, you can offer your clients the ability to login from anywhere and order 1 or 2 copies of their catalog for instance, or print 10 more wedding invitations that they forgot to deliver.
Use Recycled Paper
If you think that professional-grade recycled paper is of a lower quality than traditionally manufactured paper, think again. In fact, recycled paper has better quality grains, weights and finishes. Recycled paper can be used for many print projects, from catalogs and books, through event invitations of all kinds, to brochures, calendars and business cards, in a wide variety of paper colors, textures and finishes.
Adopting green solutions when printing is a great way to do your part for the planet. Each and every one of us can make a small change that will ultimately help our environment. All it takes is minor alterations to make a huge difference.