:: Green Printing
March 31st, 2008
Graphic action
We’ve been doing a bit of research lately into sustainable graphic design, so we figured it might be good to share the information we’ve picked up on the way. It’s by no means comprehensive, and hopefully most of it you already know, whether you’re a designer or someone who commissions design. But, hey, sometimes it’s good to take another look at this stuff.
So, you’re getting ready to create something printed. But you’d rather not damage the planet too much while you do it. What are your options?
From a paper point of view, there are loads of different, and frankly confusing environmental credentials out there. There are two main things that you should look for - recycled paper, or paper from sustainable forests. (Or often, a mix of the two.)
RECYCLED PAPER
Using recycled paper is the definitely the best way to go. Making recycled paper uses up to 50% less energy than using trees; uses less water; involves fewer chemical processes; and reduces the amount of waste heading to landfill (the UK’s landfill sites are due to be full within a decade). And thanks to the improved manufacturing processes, the quality of recycled stocks is really fantastic.
Ideally you should aim for paper that is 100% recycled. Failing that, a paper that contains a percentage of recycled material, with the rest coming from sustainable forests.
(Paper manufacturers often tell you the percentage of pre-consumer and post-consumer waste that makes up the recycled bit of the paper. Some folk say that post-consumer waste is best, but don’t get too hung up on it. It’s the overall percentage that matters.)
Be wary of papers that feature percentages of mill broke, which is scrap generated in a mill before the papermaking process is finished. That stuff should be recycled as standard on all papers.
The NAPM (National Association of Paper Merchants) mark is the most helpful one to look for, as it shows how much of the stock is recycled. There’s a full list of their approved stocks here.
SUSTAINABLE FORESTS
If you can’t use a recycled stock, then at least make sure that your paper comes from carefully managed forests. Again, there are loads of different schemes that claim to cover this area, but the only one really worth looking for is the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) one.
FSC approved stocks will all feature the FSC mark, which will rate them according to their proportions of certified virgin fibre. They’ll either be FSC 100% (made only from certified virgin fibre); FSC Mixed Sources (made from a percentage of certified virgin fibre, and the rest from either non-certified or recycled sources); or FSC Recycled (made from 100% post-consumer recycled fibre). Sometimes, but not always, the mark will show what percentage of the stock is recycled, using the mobius strip icon.
The FSC papers are definitely a good thing. But apart from the FSC Recycled papers, you’re still cutting down trees, even if they are carefully managed.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?
There’s a bunch of other stuff you can do as a designer to lessen your design’s impact on the environment.
- Minimise your bleed (it means less de-inking during recycling)
- Avoid lamination and varnishing where possible (they can hinder recycling)
- Reduce the physical size of your printed item
- Reduce waste by sticking to A sizes (most materials and presses are based around these sizes)
- Try a binding method that allows new information to be added in at a later date
- Don’t use window envelopes - they can’t be recycled
- Try paper not made from wood. GF Smith’s Crane’s Crest is made from cotton.
- Ask your printer to use soy inks rather than oil based inks. Beacon Press can help.
- Recycle all the paper you’re using in your office too, and print on both sides of the paper when you’re printing stuff out. We used to have a fax machine, and got loads of junk faxes sent to it, so we turned them into notebooks for the studio.
Also, why not use the Recycle Now mark. It helps advertise the fact that you’re using recycled stocks, and encourages people to recycle your work.
We certainly haven’t managed to do all the things mentioned above yet, and are as guilty as any designer of being seduced by a large format brochure, of adding in a varnish or a laminate, or of simply not always specifying a recycled stock. But we’re going to start mending our ways, and encouraging and informing our clients about how to do the same. (Many of them are way ahead of us in fact.)
GOOD PLACES FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.lovelyasatree.com
A lovely site by Caroline Clark which covers everything we’ve mentioned here, but in far greater detail.
Paperback
A leading supplier of recycled papers. They’ve got lots of great information about recycling and how it works.
WRAP
WRAP is a not-for-profit company supported by funding from DEFRA and the DTI. WRAP’s mission is “to accelerate resource efficiency by creating efficient markets for recycled materials and products, while removing barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling”. Which is quite a mouthful. But they’ve got a huge amount of information about paper and recycling. Check out their Office and Publication Papers PDF - lots of great advice.
Paper.Print.Environment
All the information about paper and recycling gathered by David Shorto, print and paper buyer for Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace; it has a great tips for designers page.
Friends of the Earth
Good general information about using recycled stocks.
AIGA’s report on printing and sustainability
A wonderful report which explores how graphic designers should be thinking about sustainability.
Robert Horne Paper
Lots of useful links in their environment section. They also produce a Rough Guide to environmental paper.
If you’ve got any more information that you think could be shared, or if you think we’ve got something totally wrong, do drop us an email, or chuck us a comment below.
AND FINALLY…
This post is part of Blog Action Day. The idea is that all around the world, on October 15 each year, bloggers will post on a single really big important issue. The hope is that because blogs tend to have fairly focused readerships, they can communicate very directly with their audience, and possibly effect real change. This year, for the inaugral Blog Action Day, the theme is the environment.
As part of Blog Action Day, blogs have also been asked to donate any revenue they earn on the 15th to charity. We don’t run this blog as a money making venture, but if you fancy donating some of your hard earned, why not join us in giving some to Greenpeace?
——————————————————————————–
Green Design Materials: Printing, Packaging, and More
Waterless printing eliminates the need for dampening solution altogether. Read more
Heavy metals
Heavy metals are natural components of the Earth’s crust. They cannot be degraded or destroyed. Tiny amounts are essential for human health, but at higher concentrations they can lead to poisoning.
Heavy metals may enter the body in food, water, air, or by absorption through the skin.
Heavy metals such as barium, copper and zinc are contained in certain ink pigments, particularly metallics.
IPA (Isopropyl alcohol)
Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used as a cleaner and solvent in industry. Lithographic printers combine it with water to create ‘dampening solution’ which repels the ink in non-image areas.
IPA contributes to ground level ozone which can effect plant and crop growth and poses a potential health hazard to printers as it can lead to, amongst other things, asthma.
Mineral-oil based inks (also known as petroleum based inks)
Mostly only used in web printing nowadays, these inks typically contain 30-35% mineral-oil. The pigment is suspended in petroleum with Isopropyl alcohol as the solvent (see above). As the ink dries, alcohol and petroleum evaporate, releasing VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).
Added to this – petroleum is a non-renewable resource.
Solvents
A solvent is a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances. Solvents used in the lithographic print process include:
- mineral oil which is used to reduce the viscosity of ink
- Isopropyl alcohol (also referred to as IPA, see definition above) which is toxic to aquatic life
Vegetable-oil based ink
Vegetable-oil based inks can be made from a variety of vegetable oils including soy-bean, corn, and linseed oils. Replacing mineral oil with vegetable oil means that you can reduce or even cut out VOC emissions.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
These are carbon-containing gases and vapors that are released from solvents used during the printing process.
The most significant environmental impact of VOCs is their formation with vehicle exhaust to form photochemical smog. However, in liquid form VOCs can effect water and soil quality.
They also have an effect on the health of pressroom workers and have been linked to breathing difficulties, liver and kidney damage.
Waterless printing
Waterless printing is basically sheet-fed litho printing using different printing plates and a method of transferring the image to the paper without using water.
Removing water from the process means that you also eliminate the problem of achieving the correct balance of ink and water on press. It also eliminates the need for IPA (see above).
EMAS
This stands for the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, an initiative designed to improve companies’ environmental performance. EMAS sets the highest environmental standards of all the environmental management schemes (EMS). Its aim is to recognise those organisations that go beyond minimum legal compliance. In addition, it is a requirement of the scheme that participating organisations regularly produce a public environmental statement that reports on their environmental performance. It is this voluntary publication of environmental information, whose accuracy and reliability is independently checked by an environmental verifier, that gives participants in the EMAS scheme enhanced credibility.
IS0 14001
This is an internationally recognised scheme. It provides a framework for environmental awareness, monitoring and continual improvement. The three key areas to be managed are:
- Compliance with environmental regulation
- Prevention of pollution
- Improvement in environmental performance
The emphasis on continual improvement means that standards may vary as the longer a printer has been in the ISO14001 scheme, the more progress they will have made.
Green Dragon
This scheme is for Welsh companies that wish to improve their environmental performance but don’t have the resources for ISO14001. There are five levels, each one contributing towards the achievement of international and European environmental standards, ISO 14001 and EMAS. Green Dragon Level 5 is in fact a slightly higher standard than ISO14001, partly because it takes carbon emissions into account.
Greenmark
This was developed by the London Environment Centre (LEC), part of London Metropolitan University and is more appropriate for smaller companies who lack the resources for IS0 14001. All participants enter the scheme at Level One where you must demonstrate that you are taking responsibility for your environmental impacts. Further levels involve recommendations being made and targets being set and met for reducing environmental impact.
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody
If a printer holds the FSC Chain of Custody and the paper being used in a project is FSC certified, the end product can be labelled as FSC certified. This certificate is about the fibre tracking process only and ensures that there is no contamination between FSC and non-FSC material. It is not about environmental standards maintained within the factory.
‘Carbon neutral’ schemes
Please be aware that so-called ‘carbon neutral’ status is not a good indication of environmental performance. There is currently no regulation in this area and so it can simply be bought through offsetting schemes.
Once CO2 is in the atmosphere, off-setting cannot stop it from changing our climate. Offsetting merely shifts the responsibility for reducing CO2 emissions from ourselves to developing countries. Please ask your printer and paper suppliers what they have done to actually reduce their carbon footprint.
The government is currently setting up a British Kitemark scheme to try to regulate the sector, and the Gold Standard foundation lists carbon offsetters who comply with their quality code.
PAPER TERMINOLOGY
The following three terms, ECF, PCF and TCF, are commonly used, but since no papers are made in Europe using chlorine bleaching, all European papers are either ECF, PCF or TCF. So when choosing a paper, bear in mind that these terms cannot be used as a differentiator.
Elemental chlorine free (ECF)
This term is used to mean paper that is made from virgin or recycled fibre and bleached using alternative chlorine compounds as a substitute for elemental chlorine. See note above.
Processed chlorine free (PCF)
This is used to mean paper that is made from recycled post-consumer waste (PCW) and bleached without chlorine, or left unbleached. See note above.
Totally chlorine free (TCF)
This term is used to mean paper made from 100% virgin fibre that is bleached without chlorine, or left unbleached. It isn’t applied to recycled papers, because the source fibre cannot be determined. See note above.
Post-consumer waste
This is when the end product has reached the consumer, been used and then recycled.
Pre-consumer waste
Also known as post-industrial waste, this describes printers’ waste such as off-cuts and unused copies which may have been over-ordered.
PEFC
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification Schemes is an international forest industry initiative that acts as an umbrella for many smaller national forestry schemes.
FSC
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests and is the only certification scheme endorsed by NGOs worldwide.
The number of FSC-certified forests is growing rapidly, covering 84 million hectares worldwide – about 10% of the world’s production forest.
Forests are inspected and certified against the 10 principles and criteria of Forest Stewardship, which take into account environmental, social and economic factors.
In addition to forest management and certification, the FSC Chain of Custody tracks the timber from the forest to the paper mill and then to the printer.
When held by a printer, FSC certification is about the fibre tracking process ONLY and ensures that there is no contamination between FSC and non-FSC material. The Chain of Custody is broken if the manufacturing mill or printer is not FSC certified. FSC certification for printers is NOT about environmental standards maintained within the factory.
There are three types of FSC Certified paper:
FSC Mixed Sources
The Mixed Sources label states that at least 50 per cent of the virgin fibre must come from FSC certified forests with the remaining percentage from ‘controlled sources’. Recycled waste can also be included up to a maximum of 90%. The majority of FSC certified materials featured on Lovely as a Tree carry this label.
Controlled sources exclude:
- illegally harvested timber
- forests where high conservation values are threatened
- genetically modified organisms
- violation of peoples’ civil and traditional rights
- wood from forests harvested for the purpose of converting the land to plantations or other non-forest use
100% FSC
No explanation needed!
FSC Recycled
These papers are made from 100% post-consumer waste by FSC accredited mills.
—————————————————————————-
TCO Development
TCO Development is a company created by the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO). TCO development leads development toward better and sustainable work environments for people working in office environments. They have developed TCO 95 & TCO 99 which are recognised as the most demanding standards for office products in the world today.
TCO Development have been working with quality and environmental labelling of office equipment since the beginning of the 1990s. They are continuing to develop their operations and increase requirements on manufacturers. TCO’92 (no longer valid), TCO’95, and TCO’99 have been followed by TCO’03 Displays, TCO’05 Norebooks and TCO’05 Desktops.
Labeling currently covers displays, notebooks, desktops, keyboards, printers, and office furniture. We have also produced a requirement standard for mobile phones. All within the framework for their comprehensive “Excellent Workplaces” concept.
TCO-99 (Printers & Faxes)
In addition to being good, a printer must affect the indoor climate and external environment as little as possible. A printer certified in accordance with TCO Development’s standard TCO’99 Printers fulfils a number of criteria, which guarantee that it does precisely that.
This standard covers requirements within the areas of ergonomics, emissions, energy, and ecology. TCO-labeling of printers and faxes guarantees:
Ergonomics
- High user-friendliness; achieved by well-placed and clearly marked buttons and controls.
- High visual ergonomic requirements for displays.
- Lower noise levels.
Emissions
- Considerable reduction of magnetic and electrical fields.
Energy
- Low energy consumption for reduced environmental impact.
- The energy saving function provides a better indoor climate through reduced heat emission, thus retaining air humidity.
Ecology
- Reduced emission of brominated and chlorinated flame-retardants, mercury and cadmium into the environment.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some examples: _uacct = “UA-335820-4″;
urchinTracker();
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.