Green Is Rapidly Becoming Many Print Buyers' Favorite Color
Twenty years ago, more and more buyers-especially those representing major corporate customers-were demanding a recycled or recyclable paper "bug" on their paper. Today customers' demand for environmental awareness is reaching all the way back to the tree that the paper came from and the energy used to transform it into a printed piece.
Over the last 12 months, customer demand has pushed renewable energy and certifiable forest management onto the industry's front burner. Consider, for example, the recent announcement by Omaha Print that it will recommend a comperable "environmentally prefered paper" as an option on all quotes & projects for interested customers.
The recommendation will promote the use of paper with "maximized post-consumer and de-inked recycled fiber and it encourages the use of paper made with pre-consumer recovered fiber or alternative fibers in preference to virgin wood fiber."
Action Plan for 'Green' Buyers
Greenbiz.com (www.greenbiz.com), whose aim is to serve as an information resource on aligning environmental responsibility with business success, offers an "action plan" for "green procurement" by print buyers that include such steps as:
Generate a list of printers in your area and make some calls. Find out if your printer will be able to meet your needs before you commit.
Choose chlorine-free paper with post-consumer fiber. Find out if your printer offers environmentally preferable paper.
Use paper wisely. Print on both sides. See if you can turn a brochure or other document into a "self-mailer."
Think green ink. Ask your printer about the possibility of using low-polluting inks (with a VOC content of less than 5%), recycled inks or vegetable-based inks.
Package your document wisely. Bindings, adhesives, foils, and plastic bags commonly used in printing or packaging printed material can render paper unrecyclable at most facilities.
And, the site advises, "Try to consider your printer as a parter in environmental excellence, rather than an adversary. Omaha Print is FSC certified and prepared to help you make the right choice for you and your companies environmental program.