Sustainable print

In the promotion of waste, recycling and good environmental practices we are met with a quandary, i.e. large print runs of leaflets and flyers are often necessary to help people recycle more and yet these same campaigns use large amounts of resources. How do we go about minimising the impact of our print campaigns and show our commitment to the environment?  

A quick look into this subject raises an array of terms that are bandied around. Sustainable printing, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, ethical printing, green printing, environmentally friendly printing, environmentally friendly inks, vegetable inks, recycled paper and post consumer waste are terms that often confuse.

There is also the question of quality and cost. Is it possible to achieve professional results from recycled material and alternative inks? Is the cost prohibitive? Many people have associated recycled paper with a rough beige finish and a higher cost.

At Get it Sorted we have worked, not only to make this simpler for our clients but to satisfy our own sustainability policy. We almost exclusively use paper that:

  • Contains at least 75% post consumer waste. This means paper that has been recycled by end users, not just the scraps taken from paper mills that allow a paper to be classified as recycled.
  • The non-recycled content of which is from FSC approved forests. This means well maintained and replanted forests that follow the FSC’s strict guidelines.
  • Is capable of the highest reproduction values, comparable in quality to any typical virgin paper stock at a comparable or lower cost.

As far as inks go we will always try to use: 

  • Vegetable based inks. These inks have considerably less impact that traditional inorganic oil based inks. Again, quality is our key consideration and we always check to make sure our standards are maintained.

In addition to this we use printers that are:

  • BS EN ISO 14001 certified. This means that their operations are planned to conform to high environmental standards. Working with people that share our values allows us to deliver campaigns that combine the highest quality with high environmental standards. 

It isn’t hard to give your campaign the validity and peace of mind in knowing that you have done the best to reduce its environmental impact – by letting us do it for you!

If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us now.