Thinking Green

Hello,

Kristen here, first blog, hopefully the first of many…

Recycled paper: do you understand what you are buying?

Recently I have been involved with researching the many facets of recycled papers to assist our clients in understanding what icons are associated with recycled paper and what each icon means. With just a little research, I was astounded to find out the range of products that are on the market and that in some cases “recycled paper” didn’t mean what I thought it meant.

With so much talk about being “Green” these days, many companies are turning towards recycled papers as one way to help the environment and possibly their bottom line. The question is, do the companies really know what they are buying? When you decide to start buying and printing on recycled papers, you really need to do some research or you might not be getting what you think.

Part of the issue is that “recycled” is a very loose term. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) controls the standards on what is and isn’t considered recycled. But the standards are so broad that a paper with a recycled logo can literally mean that a paper is being made from paper scraps left over from the paper making process. So ultimately you are buying paper with no post-consumer waste that offers little relief to the environment.

If recycled papers is your route, a better option is to look for post-consumer waste recycled or PCW labels, the higher the percentage of PCW the better. 100% PCW means that the paper pulp is derived from all post-consumer waste, no virgin forests are logged for this paper. Another option is to consider the way the paper is whitened. According to The Green Guide, processed chlorine-free or PCF is a better choice than totally chlorine-free or TCF. PCF is required to use at least 30% PCW and is a safer process than TCF. TCF can be used on virgin forest pulp and therefore is not as good of an option.

Another route altogether is to use tree-free papers, which come from agricultural refuse, bamboo, hemp, kenaf and non-tree fibers. The tree-free papers use an alternate source of pulp, rather than logging virgin forests, therefore they don’t reuse post-consumer waste. So they are a good alternative from non-recycled papers.

When you do a little research you start to see all of the options that are available. There is FSC Certified paper that follows a “chain-of custody” from a FSC-certified forest, to the paper manufacturer, merchant and finally the printer and Green Seal certification which is a third party that certifies environmentally friendly products. I think the ultimate goal is to reuse as much post-consumer waste as possible to save our landfills AND to use as little as possible of virgin forest to save the environment. Think about this the next time you look for recycled paper. 

The Perfect Print Ready File

Barb here…As Production Manager for Custom Direct, my department prides itself on delivering perfect print ready files. Every printer we have dealt with has complimented our files, even newer printers we are using on our client’s behalf praise our files. My question to them is, as applications have advanced and processes have changed, why are you still getting bad files? So to better help you prepare your files, be they for your advertising/design agency or the printer, here are some ways to get perfect print ready files.

1. Convert all images to CMYK. Most printing presses run using CMYK inks. Because RGB has a wider spectrum of color, if you convert your images early on, you won’t be surprised at color quality when the images become CMYK at the print end.
2. Convert all colors to process. Unless you are specifically printing with a pantone color, or multiple pantones, make sure you convert your colors to process to eliminate any guesswork on the print end.
3. Make sure all images are at least 300dpi. To ensure the best quality for your brochure, catalog or whatever type of printed piece you are using, Hires images are an absolute necessity.
4. If you are using InDesign and packaging the files, or Quark and collecting the files, make sure that all components are included. Double check this. Many times we have received files where fonts are missing or a linked image is missing. The same also applies to Illustrator files.
5. If you are delivering a locked PDF to your printer (either PDFX1-A or ripped specifically for the printer using their specifications) make sure that it has been set up properly.
6. Most importantly, Communicate. If you don’t understand what it is that the printer or agency wants, ask questions. If they are anything like us, they will be more than willing to help educate you, so you can set up perfect files and not incur any additional costs

Good Luck in creating your next Perfect Print Ready File!