How To Implement Brochure Printing That Is Eco Friendly

By Shirley Jones


There is an urgent need to start reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the environment and to protect our natural resources. Many customers have recognized the role they have to play; shunning businesses associated with products or services harmful to the environment and promoting those that are environment conscious. This is also being seen in the printing industry. There are several things you can do to adopt brochure printing that is eco friendly.

You need to properly utilize your raw materials and other resources which go into the creation of the brochure. These include, for example, the paper, ink, electricity and so on. One way of saving on paper is to ensure only the essential information is contained in it. A design in which the paper is folded up several times helps save on paper even more.

Ink is an important input in the printing process. Most of the inks used in conventional printing are petroleum based. During the process of drying, they release what are referred to as volatile organic compounds (or VOCs). When released into the atmosphere, these compounds have a number of detrimental effects. One of them is formation of smog which reduces visibility. For ecofriendly processes, the preferred inks are the vegetable based types.

Using recycled paper is another of ensuring that you remain environmentally conscious and save on operating costs at the same time. This can be made possible by using either post-consumer or pre-consumer waste materials. Post-consumer waste paper refers to that which was used to make another product and was later discarded after the product had been used. Pre-consumer waste, on the other hand, refers to excess paper from the manufacturing process.

Apart from reducing on the rate of deforestation, paper recycling contributes to environmental conservation in several other ways. For example, the amount of water that is needed to process recycled paper is a lot less than that needed for virgin paper. Consequently, there is less effluent from the process. The main downside of using this type of paper has been the need to use chlorine as a bleaching agent but this has been changing as newer bleaching techniques are devised.

Recycling and reuse should be extended to the other raw materials. Water is among the most important inputs and is the easiest to reuse. Studies show that one can reuse at least 60% of the water going through the first cycle of processing. Ink can also be recycled but more emphasis should be placed on reducing wastage.

Energy efficiency is good for the environment and the business. Work to reduce your reliance on fossil fuel as your source of energy and consider using more of renewable sources such as wind and solar. Get rid of inefficient equipment if possible and replace it with that which can give you higher output per unit of energy consumed. You will need to do regular servicing to the equipment to ensure that they remain efficient throughout.

Once you make the decision to go green, be prepared to meet the associated expense. While this may discourage you in the beginning, the long-term benefits are huge. Consider outsourcing part of the process if you are not in a position to finance the shift. In case of such a partnership, make sure your partner company is also environmental conscious.




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