The world is going green and for a good reason. We’re finally beginning to understand that our precious environment is hurting and we could help it by taking simple everyday actions. We’re already getting better at things like switching off light bulbs and cycling instead of driving, but there are other ways to be green. One essential trick for many private and business people is to start printing green. What is green printing and how can you make eco-friendly choices when printing?
Green printing in a nutshell
Green printing is essentially just a form of printing but without the same harmful impact on the environment. When you’re printing eco-friendly, you are using fewer chemicals, electricity and paper. Green printing practices can be a combination of all three or you can simply focus on one aspect at a time – for example, using greener printing paper.
You might be wondering why you don’t just stop printing altogether. Like with many other practices, the ideal would be to start reducing your need to print. Moving from physical files to digital files can help you be more eco-friendly – not to mention it can save you time and money. However, for many businesses and individuals, completely stopping printing just isn’t viable. Therefore, you can simply switch some of your printing practices to be greener.
Furthermore, green printing can be beneficial to your business and household. It would be a mistake to think it’s more expensive. It is actually the opposite. Eco-friendly printing might have a higher initial cost (the printers can be more expensive), but the continuous printing costs will be lower. Green printing uses fewer materials and energy. But it also improves printing efficiency. When you don’t make printing a mindless activity, but actually force yourself to think why and what you are printing, you will stop wasteful printing.
How to be more eco-friendly when printing
There are different elements to eco-friendly printing. First, you have the actual printing machine. Now, the best way to make your printing greener is by opting for low-energy printers. You should also focus on the labelling. Nordic Swan and Blue Angel labels on printers tell they are eco-friendly and much better at preserving nature before and after manufacturing. Some of the printers worth opting for include brands like Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, Brother and Xerox laser printers.
Another clever way to save the environment when using a printer is to buy second-hand. If you are looking for a printer, the greener choice would be to buy used and only if you can’t find a suitable model should you consider buying a new model. Make sure you also expose of your printer in a legal manner by recycling it. You can find more information about disposing electronic devices from your council, municipality or through non-governmental organisations.
The other big element of is the ink and the paper used in printing. You can find eco-friendly ink online. The ink has fewer chemicals in them and it uses natural ink that isn’t as hard on the environment. In addition, you should always opt for 100% recycled paper when printing. You don’t just want to buy recycled paper; you also want to recycle any waste paper you accumulate while printing. When choosing your printing paper, you want the paper to have either Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification or both. This ensures the materials for the paper have been sustainably sourced.
The final element to being more eco-friendly in printing is all about the printing practices. It can actually be more cost-effective and eco-friendly to have a professional printing company take care of your printing needs. You can find specialist green printing companies that ensure your printing is done with good quality and green materials. This will be better than spending money on equipment you hardly ever use. You can find many green printing services online. One of the best ways is to use Printed.com vouchers that can help you print on recycled paper at discount prices.
Of course, you also need to make sure that when you’re printing, you don’t make mistakes. Having to reprint 100 pages full of material will harm the environment more than getting it right on the first go. Ensure you properly proofread your materials and edit them for mistakes before hitting that ‘print’ button. In an organisation, it can also be helpful to create practices that prevent mindless printing. For example, printing could be assigned to a single manager who would overview the material people are hoping to print. This could prevent printing in cases where digital formats are better.
Being green is about the small actions
Green printing doesn’t necessarily sound like much but it can have a huge impact on the environment. It’s another action that is easy to take and which could yield big results. Therefore, it is definitely worth looking into whether you are a business owner or just an individual looking to be more sustainable with your actions.