Issues and Topics of Interest to the Nonprofit Community
The NonProfit Center offers vibrant programming, hosting several activities each month. One facet of this includes public forums on critical issues facing nonprofits and communities.
Often these forums stimulate conversation beyond the event, which center staff research further and prepare articles, fact sheets, tips and summaries for the broader nonprofit community. Collected here are resources gleaned from recent activities at the center.
Green Printing: Good for the Environment and Your Budget
Do you automatically rule out green, or environmentally-friendly, printing for your nonprofit because you think it is too expensive? As a green building, Third Sector New England's NonProfit Center is committed to using eco-friendly commercial printing practices. Read on, and learn how you, too, can make green printing as affordable for your nonprofit as it is beneficial for our environment. Photo: Eric Johnson shares green printing tips with people who attended his spring 2007 workshop at the NonProfit Center.
Changing Practices
 The threat of global warming is changing the way in which the corporate, government and nonprofit sectors are doing business. Recycling office paper and printer cartridges, buying from locally-based vendors and reducing energy use are eco-friendly practices that most nonprofits have adopted.
However, many nonprofit organizations are still hesitant to make the leap to working only with green printers for their marketing and communications materials for fear that production costs will skyrocket. But with a bit of planning and the right production partners, you can make green printing easier and more economical for your nonprofit organization.
Finding Green Partners
So, where do you begin? First, find a local printer that uses environmentally-responsible printing techniques. In Greater Boston, the worker-owned cooperative Red Sun Press has received awards from both the Office of Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Commonwealth for its use of green technology and practices in their business.
For a list of green printers across the region, visit the following web resources:
After finding the right printing partner, you will want to make sure that your designer is in touch with the printing company that you’ve chosen. Make sure the two vendors have conversations early in the project’s genesis to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Problems can arise when the designer moves forward on a project without a clear understanding of what parameters need to be followed to facilitate an eco-friendly print job.
 Print Buyer Checklist
Next, you will want to develop your Print Buyer Checklist. Realize that behind every printed page is an array of chemicals, wastes and emissions - many of which can be avoided through informed choices and good management practices.
Your checklist should include sections that help you select papers, inks and printing techniques that minimize the use of chemicals and use raw products efficiently. The following points should be part of your checklist:
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Choose environmentally-preferable paper and inks – and clearly mark your documents to illustrate this – to publicly demonstrate your nonprofit’s environmental commitment.
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Choose chlorine-free paper with post-consumer fiber. Greening a print job starts before the ink hits the paper. Find out if your printer offers environmentally preferable paper.
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Think green ink. Ask your printer about the possibility of using low- polluting (with a VOC content of less than five (5) percent) or recycled inks. Also, vegetable-based inks are preferable to petroleum-based inks because they contain considerably lower VOCs. Co-op America recommends inks with vegetable-oil levels specified in the Vegetable Ink Printing Act of 1993 (S.716): 40 percent for news inks, 20 percent for sheet-fed inks, 20 percent for forms inks, and 10 percent for heat-set inks.
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Use paper wisely. Use as few paper sheets as possible for your print project.
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Avoid non-standard sizes for your print project. Papers are produced in standard sheet sizes. You can save paper by getting the maximum number of copies from those sheets.
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Try to turn a brochure or other document into a “self-mailer,” which will not require an envelope. Include your cover letter within the printed document, so you will not have to include extra pieces of paper. If a separate cover letter actually is more eco-friendly, use both sides, and keep the rest of the packaging to a minimum.
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Package your document wisely when a self-mailer will not work. Bindings, adhesives, foils, and plastic bags commonly used in printing or packaging printed material can render paper unrecyclable at most facilities.
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Minimize your print project's ink coverage. Less ink needs less “press ready” time and thus less paper.
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Look for a printer that uses a waterless printing system which eliminates the water or dampening system used in conventional printing.
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Work with vendors that use renewable energy sources like wind power to take the next step in green printing.
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Avoid foil stamps, varnishes and other coatings that may keep you from being able to recycle the piece later. However, if coating your printed piece will add significantly to its shelf life, then go ahead, as this will cut paper use over the long term.
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Consider publishing your document online. The most environmentally-friendly publication doesn't exist on paper at all, and it is now possible to design and distribute a publication without ever printing it out on paper.
Further Considerations
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Not all environmentally-preferable options work with all printing processes. Ask your printer which inks and which papers will meet your needs.
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While the options are out there, sometimes the information is not. Finding the greenest printer for the specific job may take some self-education and research.
More Online Green Printing Resources
Contributing writer: Ross Peizer
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