The ‘Green’ Design and Printing Guide

Many organisations with a sustainable message send mixed signals with their communications material. The message says ‘be sustainable’ but the method of delivery does not always reflect this.

In this post I am going to give you some of the tools and principles that we use at Hot PJ for designing and producing our printed communications that will minimise the impact they have on the environment.  Most of these will save you money as well  -  highly desirable in any business situation.

When you shape purchase decisions around triple bottom line principles, you will know, that compared with our European and North American counterparts, our choices are limited, due to our market size and location. No more is this true than in the area of commissioning sustainable marketing resources.

The good news is that technology is always giving us new options. An environmental renaissance amongst some producers, such as paper companies, means we now have more choice.

To keep growing the choices in the New Zealand market, we as customers, should continually send our suppliers – our designers, printers, paper companies -  the message that our buying decisions are based on more than just price. If they keep hearing this message, then the time will come when it becomes the norm for all suppliers.

Lets assume you have done all you can to minimise the amount of printed resources you need, but there is still a role for something printed on paper, and you need to manage the production process and delivery in a sustainable way.

Design considerations

To prepare your job for your designer, begin by editing your copy for relevancy and unnecessary wordage. This will make it easier to read and it will take up less paper.

Think about the life of what you are about to print. Can you encourage your users to pass-on the printed material when they have finished with it? Or can you ask them to return it to you, or recycle it by ordinary means?

Remember to include on your printed material information about what to do with it  once the user has finished with it.

Your designer will often play the biggest role in shaping how your message is delivered. Be sure they know your requirements for environmental sustainability.

Ask them to be careful when designing using non-standard sizes. These can often mean areas of wastage or use more resources such as paper or plates.

If you do want to use a different size for impact or a point of difference, check if there will be any paper wastage and consider using the space for printing another job at the same time. You’ll not only reduce waste, but you will get 2 jobs for little more than the price of one. For example, when printing folders with pockets, have your designer lay up your business cards in the gaps on the sheet.

Ask your designer to be economical with the use of inks by limiting the number and size of full colour images. Reducing the image size down so it does not ‘bleed’ off the page means there will be less ink used and minimal de-inking of the off-cuts during the recycling process.

Paper

Choose papers that have a recycled content.

Pre-consumer waste refers to material diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process; such as the off-cuts and waste from papermaking and the printing process.

Post consumer waste paper is made from recycled advertising mailers, office paper, magazines, milk cartons, etc. – waste that has been ‘consumed’ and has been removed from the waste stream. To be recycled it requires cleaning and de-inking.

Some argue that paper containing higher post consumer waste is more beneficial to the environment because most pre-consumer waste, such as mill waste, is recycled as a matter of course, and therefore does not contribute to reducing waste to landfill.

However there is a point in the recycling process where recycled material becomes unsuitable as the fibre lengths shorten and will no longer make a viable piece of paper.

Choose papers that have not been chemically bleached.

In the past, most pulp was bleached with chlorine to achieve a white finish which produced carcinogenic dioxins.

Most modern pulp and paper mills no longer use chlorine gases, switching to what is an ‘Elementally Chlorine Free’ processes reducing toxins to below currently measurable levels.

Most papers are now Elementally Chlorine Free (ECF), so in my view this should not be considered a criteria for labelling a paper environmentally friendly.

Better still are those processes that replace chlorination with oxygenation (TCF) by using more benign elements such as oxygen, hydrogen peroxide or ozone.

Recycled papers are generally Process Chlorine Free (PCF), which means they have not been bleached with chlorine but may contain source waste that was originally chlorine bleached.

Ideally you should specify a paper that has a recycled content and is PCF.

Coated paper

Coated papers have a smooth, often shiny finish achieved through an application of a clay coating and adhesives to the base paper.

They differ in look, feel and printability from the fibrous uncoated stocks used for stationery and general photocopying.

Coated stocks are often easier for printers to work with, however they are more difficult to recycle. They create more residual waste in the form of sludge from the coatings that must be disposed of.

Also consider avoiding coloured papers, which have been dyed. These may contain harmful substances like heavy metals that will cause problems when released into the waste stream.

Environmental labelling

Through legislation, European mills have been forced to take on board environmental considerations long before their competitors, so in some respects the papers they produce are sometimes preferable. Remember to factor into your decision the distance and method used to get the paper to market in New Zealand. Look out for paper producers with recognised Environmental management systems such as ISO 14001 or EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme).

If you are unsure of the origin of a particular brand of paper, look for one approved by a reliable, independent, environmental labeling system such as New Zealand’s Environmental Choice, Eco-label (EU), Blue Angel (Germany), Nordic Swan (Scandinavia), or Green Seal (US).

If you are not using 100% recycled paper, choose paper whose pulp has be sourced from sustainable plantations by looking out for the Forest Stewardship Council logo.

Prepress

Before most jobs go onto a printing press they have to go through another stage referred to as ‘prepress’.

This usually involves proofing, filmwork and platemaking. You do have choices that will minimise or even eliminate these stages. This will not only save on cost but will also reduce the overall environmental impact of your job.

Digital printing is used to refer to anything produced on a low cost colour photocopier connected to a computer, as well as a multi-million dollar computer-to-plate offset press. It is this technology that will often speed up production, minimise cost as well as eliminate much of the prepress stage.

At the top end, the quality of the output and the sophistication of the technology, make it ideal for customisation.

Once you have decided which printing process best suits the needs of your job, you can go about selecting your printer. At Hot PJ, we use a questionnaire with our printers, which covers how they manage resources, dispose of their waste and generally minimise the environmental impact of their processes.

Inks

If using offset printing, ask your printer to use 100% mineral-free agri-inks, such as vegetable or water based. Petroleum based inks contain hazardous Volatile Organic Compounds- VOCs.

Mineral free inks are now commonly used and you should not have to pay a premium for their use.

Inks however, still contain substances like heavy metals, clay and carbon to achieve certain colours, and as binding or drying agents.

Most inks can be recycled to make black ink so enquire with your printer about using recycled black ink to reduce the amount of ink waste going into landfill. It should also be cheaper than new black ink.

Special finishes

Special coatings and finishes are often used to enhance the appearance of a printed resource (such as metallic foils and inks), or to protect the surface from scuffing.

Ask your printer about the environmental impact of these enhancements, as some may render the job unrecyclable.  Others use chemicals that require special handling, give off harmful emissions, use heavy metals, or require a clean up process that uses toxic detergents.

Special finishes like laminating are often used to prolong the life of a job. This is not an environmentally sound choice as it is difficult to recycle. Solvent based laminates also emit VOCs, and use large amounts of adhesive. If you must use laminates, use the lightest one you can.

Packaging

Once your job has been printed and finished, make sure your brief to your printer includes instructions on how to pack and deliver the job to minimise environmental impact.

Ask them to minimise the use of virgin packaging materials by re using the wrapping that their stock is delivered in, or use off-cuts of waste paper.

Large jobs can be packed directly into boxes, preferably reused ones.

Ask them not to shrink wrap, or to use large amounts of packaging tape or any plastic strapping.

Conclusion

Your choice of printing process and your suppliers choice of consumables, such as paper, inks and special finishes will shape the degree of environmental impact your printed resources have.

Informed customers are the link that can force suppliers to change unsustainable manufacturing processes and seek out third party certification.

Without consumer awareness and demand, many print production suppliers see no incentive to change their unsustainable practices, and the efforts of those who go the extra mile for the environment are undermined.

Posted on December 17th, 2008 by Wendy Riley-Biddle
Filed under: Environmental