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Brownie points for green printing
By Biba Hartigan
Forget mono and colour printing, go green for an easy entry into environmentalism and gain immediate public recognition for your efforts. All you need is an environmental checklist for print commissioning with the right choice of paper, ink and printing processes.
Recycled paper saves energy, water, pollution and waste. The recycling process uses 30-70% less energy than virgin paper production. This is because most energy is used in the pulping process, hence the water savings too. Recycling also saves 95% of air pollution over virgin manufacture and diverts paper waste from landfill where, when it rots, it creates methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than CO2. Six million tonnes of paper and card are made in the UK every year from 74% recycled materials with an extra eight million tonnes imported. UK paper manufacturers are already using virtually all the recycled paper they can. The rest is being exported to be recycled elsewhere. An increased market for home produced recycled paper will save the energy used exporting waste paper and importing virgin products. And you do that by specifying recycled to your stationers and printers.
Gone are the days of grey, flecked, rough textured recycled paper. Most recycled paper is now high quality, bright, white and suitable for many purposes. Even coated gloss and silk papers are available with a high (up to 80%) recycled content for a good performance. And the cost of recycled paper has come right down in recent years to be fairly comparable with virgin paper.
Conventional printing inks are petroleum-based, used with alcohol-based solvents. They release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the air. VOCs are a health hazard to pressroom workers and contribute to ozone depletion. Some conventional inks have a heavy metal content, toxic to print workers and also when released in landfill and by ink removal processes.
Vegetable based inks are a better alternative. They too release VOCs but only about 10% of the amount from conventional inks. These inks are also easier to remove from wastepaper for recycling. Aqueous varnishes are also preferable, emitting lower VOCs and being more recyclable. Although the de-inking process uses water and chemicals, it is still less harmful to the environment than the manufacturing process of making new paper. It is best to avoid recycled paper which has been bleached with chlorine. Request ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) or TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) recycled paper. To get the best results for complex jobs it is sensible to use a printer experienced with recycled paper and vegetable inks.
Not very surprisingly, a waterless printing process saves water, however it also saves paper and lowers VOC emissions. Recycled office stationery supplies are readily available. A commitment to recycled paper and environmental printing processes reinforces your corporate social responsibility and shouldn't be let go to waste. Gain credit for what you are doing to preserve the environment by stating it clearly on your printed materials. Notch up those brownie points for green printing.
Top tips
- Specify 100% recycled paper to save energy, resources, water, waste and pollution
- Specify minimum 80% recycled content art and coated papers
- Specify vegetable based inks and aqueous varnish to save pollution and hazards to print workers' health
- Source a waterless printing process to save water, paper and pollution
- For the best results use a printer experienced with recycled paper and vegetable inks
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