Planting a postcard?

Yes, it can be done! With seeds that are implanted in the papers you can create a memorable direct mailing piece!

Many shapes exist and can be fugitive glued to another larger print piece. A lovely example is our annual Christmas card!

The ornament was die cut and the Christmas tree was fugitive glued inside the card to be exposed in the ornament opening. Outstanding!

Other interesting shapes include herb seeds and flower seeds.

Contact your print consultant to include these creative earth-friendly tokens in your next mailing!

Soy Ink - why print with a plant?

History

During the late 1970s, the volatility of petroleum pricing made investigation into an alternative to petroleum based inks critical. Soybean oil was selected from over 2000 vegetable oil varieties because it is abundant, relatively inexpensive and exceeds all the technical demands.

In 1987 the first successful test of printing with a soybean based ink was completed by The Gazette in Iowa in a practical printing run.

By 1994, over 90% of American daily newspapers and over 33% of other American newspapers printed with soy ink.

With all the positives listed below, you will want to request your print projects be completed by a company that is experienced with working with soy inks, and understands the benefits to the environment, community, and economy. That company is Electric City Printing!

Cost

Color soy ink is very comparable in cost with petroleum based inks. However, black soy ink is 25% more expensive. Many newspapers use soy ink for color.

Why print with a plant based product?

In addition to great color richness and vivid bright colors that “pop” off the page due to soy oil being more clear than petroleum based products, there are many business and environmental impacts to be achieved.

Business impact:

• Supports American agriculture. Using soy ink helps the nation’s economy by providing a market for a domestic crop while reducing dependence on foreign resources such as petroleum oil.
  
• Requires less ink to print the same amount of paper when compared to petroleum based inks. Soy ink spreads approximately 15% further, and reduces clean up costs.
  Soybean oil is naturally more clear, so less pigment is necessary to obtain the same effect which reduces the cost of the ink.

Environmental impact:

• While soybeans grow, almost half require no irrigation and temporarily reduce carbon, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere.
• Helps prevent pollution because they are low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are used in evaporative solvents to increase the speed of drying.
• Made from a safe, renewable resource.
• Recycling paper that is printed with soy inks is easier because the inks are more easily removed during the recycling process.
• Soy ink is made from natural products and decomposes without harm to the environment more quickly than petroleum based products.
• Improved indoor air quality – fewer emissions mean fewer headaches, improved productivity, and better impression on clients!

American Soy Association (ASA) There are many formulations of soy ink available and not all contain the same amounts of soy oil.

The ASA Logo can be included in a publication to promote the use of soybean oil, but the organization must meet the minimum criteria below.

The American Soy Association has set forth standards as follows:

Soybean oil as a percentage of total formula weight.

• Type of ink - percentage soy oil content
• Black news ink - 40
• Color news ink - 30
• Cold-set ink - 30
• Carbon Ink -25
• Screen Printing Ink -25
• Sheet-fed ink -20
• Business forms ink -20
• Metallic Ink -10
• Desensitizing Ink -10
• Heat-set ink -7
• UV/EB ink -7
• Stencil duplicator ink -6

What is the downside to printing with soy ink?

• Soy inks are not readily available in the non-commercial environment.


• Many say there is a slower drying time due to the lack of evaporative solvents. The importance of print production planning is increased. Allowing ample dry time between runs would be advised. However, research suggests that drying time should be consistent with petroleum based inks, per Dan Weisenback, owner of Recycled Products a company that specializes in printing using soy inks on recycled papers. “If you cut back on your ink usage and properly modify your fountain solution, you should find that soy inks dry as well as traditional inks on most substrates, including coated papers!”


• Over reliance upon a single crop which increases industry impact if there is a crop epidemic.

References:

Jennifer Proia, “Going green with your marketing materials” http://www.graphic-design.com/DTG/Business/greenprint.html Soy Ink, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_ink Soy Ink, Soy Seal information, http://www.soygrowers.com/resources/soyink.htm Soy Ink information http://www.soya.be/soy-ink.php Dan Weisenback, “Switching to Soy Inks for commercial offset printing” QPP Magazine, February 2000. http://www.recycledproducts.com/index.php?cid=25

You Can Help Save Earth!

Recently, I began a monthly article that outlines various ways we can all easily make a difference in our world's future. It is called Easy Tips For Saving The Planet!

This one page, easy to read and remember flyer is distributed to my client's and also will be posted on my blog to share the ideas.

Also, this flyer is being posted for all Electric City employees to review. Maybe you would like to make copy and post it in your break room, or better yet - make it available online!

Feel free to write me with ideas that you have seen work or if you'd like a .pdf version to share!

In last month's "Easy Tips" information I included a number of websites that make learning about eco-friendly options fun and easy.

One website that I have found to be very helpful is http://www.idealbite.com/. I love their daily email tip, search feature, and Tip Library.

Sign up for the Daily Tip. Fascinating ideas such as easy things you can do to make a difference in the way your order fast food, or decisions about choosing leather cleaners for your sofa, pants or car upholstery.

I personally love the "Cocktail Fact" section that shares statistics like, "Leather biodegrades in 25 - 40 years."

Don't miss the "Bang for the Bite" section, with interesting facts that make the savings easy to visualize: "If 10,000 Biters recycle a dozen golf balls, we'll keep the weight of 93 caddies from clogging landfills. "

Their archive is full of ideas which can be easily searched by keyword. So, if you are looking for a great way to use up all that white vinegar that Aunt Alma bought on sale at the grocery store last month and shared with you....this is the place! There were ten pages of items that reference "white vinegar!"

The Ideal Bite Tip Library is organized into categories and you will easily locate information on pets, travel, technology, and many other important topics. Go take a look! I guarantee you'll find something that will make you think, "That is so easy!" And even better, "Look what a difference I can make!"

We Recycle!

At Electric City Printing, waste paper is collected throughout the production process and sold to another company for use. Ultimate recycling!

Over 35 tons per month are recycled from Electric City Printing.

With 70 companies in the CGX network, that averages 29,400 tons per year!

This weight is equivalent to:

• 29,400 Volkswagen Beetles
• 196 blue whales
• 456 empty 747-200 passenger planes
  

The United States is the largest consumer of paper in the world!

More than 56 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. during 2007 was recovered for recycling — an all-time high. This impressive figure equals nearly 360 pounds of paper for each man, woman, and child in America.

Recyling Award Winners
Source: http://www.paperrecycles.org/paper_environment/index.html The American Forest & Paper

Association (AF&PA) Recycling Awards recognize outstanding programs in the school/university, business, and community categories that promote the recovery of high quality paper for recycling.

Business – Giant Eagle, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Giant Eagle, Inc. has established a comprehensive paper recycling program throughout its headquarter buildings and corporately owned supermarkets, fuel stations, and retail support centers. In 2008 Giant Eagle collected nearly 555 tons of mixed office paper and more than 42,000 tons of old corrugated containers for recycling.

Community – Orange County, NC In 2008, the 128,000 residents of Orange County, North Carolina recovered approximately 8,750 tons of paper for recycling. This success was the result of education and outreach combined with accessibility for residents. The county recycling program includes weekly curbside collection in urban areas, biweekly curbside for rural locations, multi-family units, drop-off sites, and government buildings, plus collection from “park and ride” locations and city buses.

School – Wake County Public School System, Wake County, NC
The Department of Environmental Services of Wake County, North Carolina’s FEED THE BIN paper recycling program serves more than 135,000 students in 152 schools. The program provides recycling bins for each classroom and office space and roll carts for the schools. An impressive 800 tons of paper were collected during the 2007-2008 school year.

College/University – Stanford University, Stanford, CA
With a student population of more than 17,350, the campus community recovered nearly 3,000 tons of paper for recycling and diverted 64 percent of its waste from the landfill in 2008. Stanford avoided paying landfill fees of $133,000 and received approximately $450,000 in revenue from its recyclables.

The paper industry hopes to recover 60 percent of the paper Americans consume by 2012.

Let's all do our part!

What you can do at home: Did you know that 87 percent (268 million) of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling programs?

What you can do at work: Start or usi workplace recycling programs. To create a personalized recycling poster, go to

http://paperrecycles.org/workplace_recycling/dynamicposter/index.html

Another interesting site is the online calculator that analyzes your paper usage and compares it to the number of trees that will need to be replaced is:
https://www.rainforestmaker.org/rain/php/calculator.php

In the upcoming months, be sure to watch for topics covering "earth friendly inks," recycled versus virgin papers, and additional ways Electric City Printing recycles!

Electric City Printing - Green Printing

I work for an awesome company that really cares about the environment - Electric City Printing.

Located in Williamston, SC, Electric City is a division of Consolidated Graphics, one of the nation's largest commercial printers. We do so much more than print - my focus in this blog is to get the word out there about our specific green initiatives.

There are many ways our company has worked to conserve the natural resources available to us on this beautiful planet and I will cover many of them in this blog!

Electric City Printing is proud to be certified and participate in three of America's leading environmental awareness programs - the Forestry Stewardship Council, American Forests, and Green Partners.

Inspiration
I have had the good fortune to to be involved with the launch of a new publication that features examples of good stewardship in our community. This client wanted to demonstrate good environmental stewardship through their choice of papers.

During this project I learned more about the various ways Electric City Printing and Consolidated Graphics is working to show responsible use of resources and wanted to share this information with you!

The Koinoiah Magazine was thrilled to be able to use FSC Certified and recycled papers in their publication. http://www.thekoinoiahexchange.vpweb.com/


FSC Certification - http://www.fsc.org/
Consolidated Graphics is certified through the Forestry Stewardship Council.

Being FSC Certified shows that Consolidated Graphics complies with the highest social and environmental standards on the market. As public concerns about the state of the world’s forests and timber resources increases, FSC provides you with a credible solution to complex environmental and social issues.

An FSC certificate label is an effective way to get public and consumer recognition of your responsible practices. This gives you credibility with customers and business partners as well as financial institutions and watchdog organizations. FSC certification helps to protect your brand and reputation and it allows you to access highly environmentally sensitive markets.

Increasingly, governments and others specify FSC certified products in their procurement programs. An FSC label is inserted into a client's document to show their concern about the environment by selecting a company that offers FSC certified products.

FSC Chain of Custody tracks the FSC Certified material through the production processes all the way to the store. FSC products can contain parts or proportions which are not fully FSC Certified. The need to allow inclusion of non-certified material has arisen because there is not yet enough FSC raw material available and certain products are not yet developed in FSC quality.

The Chain of Custody certification is valid for 5 years, and independent surveillance audits are conducted each year to confirm continued compliance.

Next topic....Recycling!