The growing concern with the preservation of the environment has resulted in several changes in routines in most areas. After all, taking care of the planet is taking care of your own home. If there are precautions that can be taken, they must be part of the protocol of any company.
This is the case of printing graphic materials, for example, whose use of paper can be optimized to avoid unnecessary cutting of trees, in addition to the use of recycled paper itself, of course. Today it is an increasingly sought-after alternative, considered intelligent, beautiful, and friendly to the planet.
What is graphic sustainability?
Sustainable production defines an approach with more social and environmental responsibility, focused on the conscious use of the resources involved. Paper cuts and formats, for example, can significantly reduce waste, contributing to ecological balance.
The economy of this product is one of the main focuses of sustainable graphic printing, but not always designers, art finalists, or graphic service providers are concerned – or are aware of – the issue.
Knowing and mastering the paper formats well to optimize their use can either mean a surplus of the budget at the end of the project or aid to ecology.
Role: villain or good guy?
Everyone knows that the format of the order has a direct influence on the budget: the more expensive it is, the more distant it is from the graphic standard for using the paper.
Yes, because the printing industry has been looking for the best use of the product for years, due to sustainability and paper-saving issues. But it is the finalist art or graphic designer who must define the best format of the closed file for the production of the plates for the printed material.
In offices, printers use the international format of ISO 216 (A4, A3, etc.), used by most countries for the portability of printing media, usually home-made.
In printing companies, however, the standard used is that of OffSet, which since the 1950s has been one of the most used standards for making large runs in a few hours, because it has as a reference the tray of its printers, generally being the most used 96cm x 66cm.
Paper is best used when it can be replicated within the format. Non-standard measures generate waste that, although it seems small at first when multiplied by the number of copies requested, is immense.
The big tip in these cases is to try to establish a partnership with the printing professionals and follow their guidance and the best cuts and formats.
Knowing closely and visualizing on the spot, it becomes much easier to do projects sustainably without any loss of quality.
Recycled paper: smart and elegant option
Recycled paper still suffers from a disintegrating factor called prejudice. This vision, however, is changing to the same extent that more and more opinion leaders are spreading their ideas and sustainable projects, lending much charm and elegance to the final result.
Large eco-friendly companies from all over the world are leaving white papers aside and adopting the darker product, the grain of which can be slightly heavier. The truth is that promotional materials, business cards, letterheads, packaging, folders, flyers, and many other materials are being produced with one eye on the public and the other on the environment.
On the other hand, corporations know that they are adding value to the public that matters: those who have the power to make decisions. And let no one is fooled, as soon as they started to be used in Brazil, their cost was much higher than the traditional ones, but today it is already much more accessible.
The impact on the environment is the main advantage of recycled paper. To give you an idea, 1 ton of recycled paper saves 22 trees, saves 75% of the electric energy, and is still 74% less polluting of the air. Each ton of new paper consumes between 10 and 20 trees, 10,000 liters of water, and 5 Mw / hour of energy.
So, like everything else in life, how you go about making your project is a matter of choice. And nothing like a smart choice!
Do you want to know more about how to produce quality graphic materials, sustainably and at a low cost? Discover an extremely efficient team focused on simply doing the best – because it doesn’t have to be expensive, it has to be done well.