Connections
Recycled Paper Quality Same as Virgin Paper
A process that has been around for many years, but is still relatively new to the public is paper recycling. It’s an important process in green printing and in keeping the environment healthy.
So just what is paper recycling?
It’s a process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new paper products. Almost any household paper can be recycled, including used newspapers, cardboard, packaging, stationery, direct mail, magazines, catalogues, greeting cards and wrapping paper.
Waste paper can be disposed of in three ways. It can be buried, burned, or recycled, and it goes without saying that recycling is the preferred method of “disposal.” There are three categories of paper that can be used as feedstocks for making recycled paper. These are mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste.
Mill broke is paper trimmings and other paper scrap from the manufacture of paper, and is recycled internally in a paper mill. Pre-consumer waste is material that was discarded before it was ready for consumer use and post-consumer waste is material discarded after consumer use such as old magazines, old telephone directories, and residential mixed paper. Paper that is suitable for recycling is called scrap.
And it makes a lot of sense to buy recycled paper. Paper purchasers can protect the environment, save money, and purchase the best papers available just by buying recycled paper.
A few reasons to buy recycled paper
But what about the quality of recycled paper?
It’s true that as late as the 80s, recycled paper was often of uneven quality, sometimes appearing dark and spotted. Throughout the years, the quality has improved immensely. Today’s recycled paper is available in all colors, including the brightest whites, and meets the highest technical standards, sometimes even exceeding comparable virgin papers. Commercial printers and copier machine manufacturers today agree that recycled paper is suitable for all their machines. They only require good quality paper, whether recycled or virgin.
According to an interview in the Epoch times, Bernd Krause of the Federal Envirnmental Office, there’s no question recycled paper is of high quality.
“Quality recycled paper is very similar to that of virgin paper,” Krause replied, “and certain criteria must be met before we approve of the eco-label, including that standards be met for the intended end-use of the product. The product produced from recycled fibers must be of at least the same quality as the product produced from virgin fibers.”
A ringing endorsement like that can only encourage more printers to use recycled paper and also to encourage more people to recycle their waste paper.
Photo: Jetalone
Questions to Ask When Buying Green Printing
Hiring a printer may not be as stressful or as important as buying a car, house or business, but it’s no less daunting especially when facing today’s economic stress. Adding to the stress is making the purchase that not only suits your needs, but also the environment.
With anything you buy, you always have to ask questions. Most importantly:
What is the environmental impact of this purchase? What is the financial impact if I buy green?
These are two good questions to ask before you even start the design process. Asking them is a great first step toward reducing the environmental impact of your purchases, and possibly reducing costs as well. The environmental impact from buying comes primarily in the use (and non-use) of natural resources to manufacture the products in the first place. If you don’t buy environmental products, you eliminate its impact.
Consider soy or waterless ink printing.
When buying your printer, explore whether your catalog can be printed with an alternative ink that has a less volatile organic compound like soy ink, a vegetable-based ink.
Per Wikipedia, volatile organic compounds are organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the earth’s atmosphere.
Waterless printing
The best way to find a good printer is to use one that comes highly recommended and is well-suited to the type of printing you need. Don’t be afraid to ask around. If you know someone who does business printing, find out which print vendors they use and for which types of jobs.
Reduce Your Paper Needs.
Once you’ve selected your paper, determine if you can reduce the amount of paper needed through trim size and weight. First, find out from your printer how well the trim size of your catalog matches its press equipment. Is it an efficient size that produces very little waste, or is significant excess paper being trimmed to produce your catalog? Talk with your printer about what press options are available, and work together to get your job printed on a press that minimizes waste.
Next, see if you can reduce the weight for your catalog and cover. The lighter the weight of the paper, the less fiber used in production. As an added bonus, your postage costs will be lower, as well.
Ask about the paper.
The proper materials are an important component of a good print job. Ink comes in a vast array of colors, and there are almost as many paper types, textures, weights, and name brands to choose from and the great thing is almost all paper companies are using recycled products to produce its paper. You don’t want your great print job wasted on the paper that isn’t recycled.
Other questions to ask are affordability, how complex the jobs the printer will do and will the vendors have proper parts and materials in case they are needed and are they accessible at any time. Evaluate your needs.
Once you decide on a vendor and which materials to use, have the rep walk you through the printing process before it starts. Understand the timeline of the project; be sure you know when you’re able to make changes and at what point the option to make changes costs extra. Cultivate relationships with local businesses. They could help you in your quest to go green.
Together, you will make the proper progress.
Environmentally-Friendly Full Color Printing
Green means “go” in many ways.
On a traffic light, it means to proceed. In auto racing, the green flag signifies the start of the race, and the beginning of full racing after a cautionary period. It means everything is safe to proceed at full speed. In the environmental world, green is the color, symbol, and word for biodegradable and nature-friendly.
Arguably, green is the color of the past decade and one that’s causing a lot of debate between environmentalists and big businesses. And for now it seems the environmentalists are winning this war of attrition.
But that’s a good thing.
And the printing world is paying attention.
Just as other industries are taking a hard look at policies and practices that impact the environment, many in the paper industry have taken this challenge seriously. Some pulp and paper companies, and printers have committed to principles of corporate and social environmental responsibility, and organizations have formed to help define, recognize and credit those efforts.
It’s nothing new. For years printers have used recycled paper and paper products to conduct business. Lately, they’re now using biodegradable soy ink instead of others that could potentially harm the environment and people.
Printers who haven’t gone green yet though have many questions.
“Do I have to request a ‘green quote’ in order to receive eco-friendly printing?”
“Is green printing as good as conventional?”
“Is it expensive?”
“Where can I get the green equipment?”
“Is my competitor going green?”
“If so, how does the customer feel about it?”
“What’s in it for me besides helping the environment, I mean, is it profitable?”
We’ve discussed green printing on other posts here, here, and here (will link to three green posts), and we’ve come to one inescapable conclusion. Green printing is a popular decision and no more expensive than previously “non-green” methods.
Aside from environmentally-friendly paper products, many companies are creating ink from soy ink instead of petroleum, eliminating harmful fumes in the process and allowing for quicker drying. Printing houses produce what are known as volatile organic compounds, which are caused by the use of petroleum-based inks, laminates, varnishes and adhesives.
Past studies have shown that these compounds, when inhaled, greatly increase the risk of asthma attacks and other breathing ailments. As a result, measures are being adopted by many printers worldwide to comply with existing regulations and adopt environment-friendly practices.
By doing this and recycling and reusing paper and other supplies whenever possible, printing companies will be practicing what green printing is.