GREEN CONSCIOUS PRINTING
Green Paper is Beautiful. One common misperception
among non-profit and for-profit organizations alike is that eco-friendly
means lower quality. When recycled paper first came on the market it
was rather brownish. Today, it is nearly indistinguishable from virgin
fiber papers. A test was made by Renourish Founder
Benson, who hung up two pieces of paper, one recycled/PCW and the
other virgin fiber, in a gallery side by side. No one could tell
the difference. Even better, when printed on, both papers
perform equally well. However, the myth still persists that
recycled/PCW papers contain seeds, are brown, and are of
lower quality. This is simply untrue, let Oliv
& Associates prove it for you. We offer:
1. Non-Recycled Paper:
Made of New Trees and New Grass.
2. Partially Recycled Paper:
Post Consumer Paper (30% to 70%).
Quote Price for Partially Recycled Paper is 50
- 70% more than Non-Recycled Paper.
3. 100% Recycled Paper:
Post Consumer Paper (70%)
Quote Price for 100% Recycled Paper is 220% -
250% more than Non-Recycled Paper.
- The higher percentage in Post Consumer Paper (Quality) dictates
the initial investment (Price) of the paper which has a direct effect
in the total investment of the job.
- Derived from our Federal government's guidelines, almost all state
and local government and business procurement specifications now
reference the Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines on recycled paper.
The EPA guidelines require a minimum of 30% post-consumer content
for uncoated printing and writing paper, and a minimum of 10% post-consumer
content for coated papers.
- Request that they print your job on 100% PCW paper. "It
is cost-efficient to make recycled paper as it requires less energy
[than virgin]," said
Benson. Yet, "there is often a slightly higher premium for recycled
paper. That is largely based on supply and demand issues. The more
we request recycled, PCW [paper], the more the paper industry will
supply, and costs will even out. Printers pollute and pollute badly. Why
should this be OK? Choosing to not support those practices is to vote
with your dollar."
OIL IS THE VEHICLE IN COLOR PRINTING
1. Petroleum: Non-Recycled (Conventional Printing).
2. Soybean Oil: Green Consciousness.
-
Use vegetable-based inks or soy inks instead of petroleum-based
inks. These alternatives are both low in VOCs and competitively priced.
When using Pantone colors, an industry standard, avoid colors (mostly
metallics and warm reds) that contain barium, copper, and zinc, which can
cause health problems in humans. (Renourish offers free downloadable
PDFs showing which Pantone colors are safe in its ink section.) Not
all soy inks are created equal, however, Ecoprint's Telschow advises
using those with less than 2% VOCs.
-
However, this isn't always the case. Vegetable-based inks are often
competitively priced with petroleum based; carbon-neutral printing
is no more expensive than traditional methods; and many recycled,
TCF, and ECF papers are in fact less expensive than virgin.
View our Portfolio for a
dazzling drama of display! |
