1. APOGEE CORPORATION LTD
Top Tips to Save Money
and the Environment
Throughout the Print Process
Jason Staniforth
0845 250 44 99

2. Top Tips to Save Money and the Environment
Throughout the Print Process
It might surprise you to know this, but making some simple changes to your printing order
could have a big effect on your environmental impact; not only that but it could possibly
improve the quality of your finished print and also save you some money!
The first step you need to take is speaking with your print
machine supplier, software supplier and supplies supplier;
wouldn’t it be great if you could have the same company for all
3 of those – Well I’ll quickly point out that you can!
First of all, I would start looking at the Paper that you use
within your company. Where possible, try and use high
recycled content paper. The best one to go for would be paper
that is 100% post consumer – not only is it 100% recycled, it
also comes in a great range of colours and weights.
Using this paper is great for your Green Credentials as it helps to save energy, water, landfill
site space, reduces Co2 air emissions and not to forget, saves trees! When producing your
printed materials on this paper, you should be proud of your commitment to the
environment by showcasing your efforts in the form of the “chasing arrows” logo and also
writing “Produced on 100% post-consumer paper”. You will be surprised at how many
companies will pick up on this, and if they are customers, well, sharing green interests is
only going to have positive effects on your business relationship.
You can also purchase paper with pulp that is brightened without using Chlorine. The
normal way, traditionally that pulp is bleached has been linked to a risk towards the
environment and to humans due to the dioxins produced. There are different grades of this
Chlorine-free paper which you can choose from to suit your specific printing needs.
You can also look at lowering basis weight of your paper; this would mean that the paper
has fewer fibres per individual sheet which would result in resources being saved. If you are
worried about the quality of your paper and print being affected by reducing your paper
weight, then you will be pleased to know that reducing by only a small amount (E.g. 80lb to
70lb) will often leave you with the same result as that of the heavier paper. A benefit of this
is that your paper cost will be cheaper and as your paper is lighter, mailing costs of a
finished piece of work could also be less due to its overall finishing weight.
It is always wise to stay up to date with news on environmentally friendly paper types and
technologies are always changing and being updated; the way to stay on top of your money
and environment savings is to stay up to date with your industry relevant news.
This blog is a great source of industry relevant news – Sign up and follow it to avoid missing
industry relevant progression - http://apogeecorporation.wordpress.com/ There are tons of

3. other ways to save money and reduce waste in a printing environment, how about
suggesting to your supplier that they do not shrink wrap your supplies, they simply use
cardboard partitions and rubber bands instead, these can be used again or recycled.
You could also try printing on both sides of your paper to reduce the amount of paper
actually used, or if you can’t use both side, why not try reducing the size of the margins or
using smaller text!
The most obvious area in which a business can save money and help the environment is
with the ink!
Ink choices are plentiful, you could try using a soy based or linseed oil based ink as these are
less toxic than your standard types of ink and a great thing about them is that they still
produce the same quality of work – make sure you state on your printed articles that you
are using such inks, you will be surprised at how many companies will actually react to your
environmental friendly ways!
For those who really want to have a huge effect on their environmental credentials why not
consider “waterless” printing? This is a much more environmentally friendly way of printing
than conventional printing.
This type of printing uses a special silicone rubber coated plate with temperature control
and a special type of ink. Having all of this eliminates the water system used for
conventional printing. Printing this way does not reduce your print quality so is a beneficial
investment to make along with its reduced press running times which will save energy for
your business and help the environment.
For more information regarding a digital office solution, please email
jstaniforth@apogeecorp.com

4. Thank you for taking the time to read and absorb the information written.
For more articles on digital print, why not visit and sign up to the Apogee BLOG
Or follow Apogee on TWITTER
Or “like” Apogee on FACEBOOK
Or go direct to the Apogee Corporation Ltd WEBSITE