Some of the Biggest Benefits of Green Printing Aren’t What You Think

You think I’d start an article like this with facts about the environment, right? Well, we’ll get there. But first, I want to make you understand something – green printing is better for your bottom line. Period.

Often, green printing companies are able to charge less than traditional companies and deliver a superior product – all while being better for the environment.

There’s a connotation that because a company is green the product is more expensive. That’s not necessarily the case. If you look at the underlying philosophy behind converting to green printing: waste reduction, speedier processes, and longer-lasting, non-toxic consumables, those benefits translate into competitive savings green companies can then pass on to the customer.

It takes a small commitment on your part, but the return on investment from switching to an environmentally-friendly printer, like Greenerprinter, is massive.

green printing

It starts with paper

It takes 24 decent-sized trees to produce a ton of virgin fiber paper.

Paper manufacturing is one of the most environmentally harmful industries in the world, destroying countless acres of wildlife and churning out literal tons of waste. The way to counter this? Obvious – use recycled paper. The way environmentally-friendly printers, like Greener Printer, counter this is by using FSC-certified paper with a high PCW (post consumer waste) content, specifically New Leaf Paper.

Contrary to popular belief, recycling paper instead of conducting extensive logging operations is not only better for the environment, but it’s cost-effective.

Traditional printers use harmful inks

Greener Printer uses soy and vegetable-based inks which are less harmful to the environment than petroleum-based inks.

What is it specifically that traditional printers use that green printers don’t? The answer is petroleum-based compounds that have between 25-35% of things called VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). The problem with these compounds is that they’ve been linked with detrimental health effects like, “eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; and damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.”

Green printers often use vegetable compounds which have 0% VOC content.

Now let’s talk carbon footprint

Until our future turns all “Elon Musk”-ian and most transportation runs on solar power, we’ll need to burn gasoline to get things where they need to go. That raises the carbon footprint of a company.

What green printing companies do to offset this is to make investments in Carbon Fund. Not only that, some companies like Greenerprinter buy their electricity from MCE, a local San Francisco provider of 100% renewable energy. This actually lowers overall cost, allowing green companies to pass on further savings to their customers.

And finally, the holistic overview

There’s another certification that printing companies (well, all companies) can get, called a b-corp certification. You might be asking why this is important – it’s important because b-corps are exclusively businesses who’ve met the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Because of these high standards, b-corps form a community of leaders and drive a global movement of people using business as a force for good.

Partnering with companies like this is not only good because you know you’re working with reputable businesses, but it’s also something you can talk about with your potential customers. Saying you work exclusively with a b-corp printer is a boon in that regard.

Green Printing

In summary, green printing companies like Greener Printer use 100% recycled paper. They’re Green-e certified and FSC certified. They use vegetable and soy-based inks, with added ink recycling programs that help protect the environment by not contributing to VOC pollution. For offset printing, a technique of printing where images are transferred from metal plates, they use non-toxic processing fluids and recyclable aluminum plates. For digital printing, they use chem-free processing fluids, and their offset printing cuts waste by 75%. The delivery is green; they use recycled packaging and offset the shipping carbon footprint through investments in Carbon Fund.

This contributes to:

  • Having affordable paper products
  • Receiving high-quality materials
  • Working with reputable, admirable companies
  • Protecting the environment
  • Using safer companies with less toxic chemicals

Going green takes very little effort on your part, but companies, like yours, have helped green printing companies reach numbers like this – in 2017 alone, Greenerprinter saved:

  • 1,466 MBTU’s of energy
  • 3,264 fully-grown trees
  • 1.5 million gallons of water
  • 102,133 lbs of solid waste
  • 281,301 lbs of greenhouse gases

Make the switch.

Guest Post from: Greener Printer

We’re San Francisco’s only full-service B Corp-certified digital marketing agency. We’ve been making a name for ourselves as storytellers, and digital marketing rising stars, and we’re ready to take your brand to the next level. Give us a call today and book your free digital marketing strategy session! And while you’re at it, don’t miss the next chapter of our own story on Facebook and Twitter!