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Introduction
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Do you ever wonder:
What happens to the things I design? The print and paper business is currently one of the 5 largest industries in the UK. The 8,000 plus print companies that make up that statistic produce huge quantities of waste, emissions, and harmful chemicals. As graphic designers, we are in a position to change this. By targeting our work and ensuring that it is ecologically considered, we can keep print alive in a new era of communication. Doing this does not mean we have to sacrifice creativity and make monotone work on crappy brown paper, or spend loads of money ticking environmental boxes. Graphic design can be environmentally friendly while looking and feeling exactly like the normal stuff. It is not essential to do everything in this guide. What’s most important is that some effort is made, however small. Even just thinking about the life cycle of something you design is a start.
This guide is printed on:
100% Recycled Post Consumer Waste
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Contents
Production Decisions Design Decisions
Introduction Contents Paper Ink Finishing Waste Reduction Printers Designing Backwards
Repro 2% Platemaking 2% Printing 24%
7%
inting 52% Pr
Cleaning 18%
These 2006 figures show the ecological impact of sheet-fed offset litho.
31%
Finishing 0.4%
p
er
Energy to Print 6%
Pa
1 2 3-4 5-6 7 8 9 10
1 Ink
Figures for other types of printing may vary considerably.
It is important to remember that the figures above have been collected using broad parameters. Figures collected under more specific parameters, such as resource impact, would be different.
A note on the cover: The diagram on the cover is not meant to illustrate the ideal system. Far from it. Instead it aims to show how design could exist within the current parameters under which we live. It was tempting to show how the cycle currently functions, but unfortunately the reality is that the waste pile would take up most of the page.
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Production Decisions : Paper
Paper: Just one ton of recycled paper saves:
3000 Litres of Water
4000 95% of Emissions
Virgin
KWh of Electricity
2.5
17 Pulpwood Trees
Metres3 of Landfill Space
Virgin paper is made using pulp from newly cut trees. The cutting down, transporting and pulping of trees uses a lot of energy and causes deforestation if not properly managed. If using virgin paper specify FSC certification. This ensures the forest which the wood came from is managed for long term use.
Recycled Making recycled paper requires less processing and transportation than virgin, meaning it uses 28 - 70% less energy and creates less greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, using recycled paper reduces waste going to increasingly expensive landfill sites. Despite misconceptions that recycled paper is more expensive and lower quality than virgin, the truth is that it is a direct competitor.
So what is FSC? The Forest Stewardship Council functions internationally to responsibly manage the world’s forests. FSC certified paper comes from forests managed by the FSC to ensure they are environmentally sound and sustainable.
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Production Decisions : Paper
Coatings Locking a piece of biodegradable paper in a chemical coating which will last for years makes recycling far more difficult. Check that coatings are biodegradable, or just don’t bother with them, whichever is easier.
Weight The weight of a piece of paper determines how much tree it contains per area unit. Using a lower weight paper means less paper is being used per sheet, saving money and trees. The calculation below demonstrates how a budget can go further by reducing paper weights:
50 a1 80gsm posters = 1,996g 50 a1 350gsm posters = 8,733g From the difference you can make 169 more a1 80gsm posters Bleaching Outside the E.U. beware of chlorine based bleaching agents. In the E.U. sodium hydroxide is used, which is the same as what is used in tooth whitening kits and hair dyes, and is relatively harmless.
For least ecological impact: (In order of importance)
Recycled Uncoated Lightweight Unbleached
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Production Decisions : Ink
Ink: Made using petroleum and other fossil fuels, mineral inks have a high content of finite resources. Alongside these issues, mineral inks contain VOCs and sometimes contain heavy metals, both of which are harmful to the environment. Despite this, mineral inks are better suited to heatset lithography, which requires solvent assisted drying.
Vegetable oil based inks typically contain few to no VOCs and no heavy metals. On top of this, 100% vegetable oil-based inks form part of a natural cycle and decompose naturally. Be sure to check the actual percentage of vegetable oil content however, as many vegetable inks are mixed with solvents and other chemicals that don’t decompose.
Mineral
100% Vegetable Emissions
Vegetable Inks
Emissions
Mineral Inks
Oil Drilling
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Production Decisions : Ink
UV UV inks work as part of an integrated press and ink technology. They eliminate most of the VOCs from offset printing by using UV lights to harden the ink. This hardening method speeds the drying process, which saves energy. As the ink does not dry on the press, there is no need for solvent-based washes.
Process
Spot
Process colour can reduce ink waste as printers do not have to open or order specific spot colour tins which may not be fully used by the job.
If monotone/duotone work is being created then spot colours can reduce ink use as multiple inks are not required to create a desired hue.
When choosing inks, consider:
Heavy Metal Content VOC Content Production Location Recyclability/Compostability And remember to:
Let the paper breathe. Don’t choke it with excessive ink. Continue on other side
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Production Decisions : Finishing
Finishing: Foil Blocking
Varnishing
Many of these contain heavy metals or toxic chemicals. They often make work unrecyclable as they cannot be broken down in de-inking.
Many varnishes are mineral oil based, require lots of energy to produce, and contain solvents. Go for water based varnishes to avoid these problems.
Binding Can seriously affect the recyclability of a design. The least harmful method is wire stitching as staples are easily removable during recycling. Most glues are damaging as they contain solvents and are hard to recycle. Fold instead of binding when possible.
Laminates
Forced Hybrid Technosphere
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Plast i
ni um
tto
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Lamination
Co
Biosphere
ap
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When finishing, remember that there are two types of material: biological and technical.
P
Can often render a product unrecyclable and non-biodegradeable. Furthermore the process emits high levels of VOCs. Wood-based alternatives to wax or latex exist, however they are hard to recycle.
i Al u m
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Design Decisions : Waste Reduction
Waste Reduction: Waste is a massive money drain and is bad for the environment. There are things you can do to reduce this however.
Imposition By using the whole press sheet, less paper is wasted. One way of doing this is working to A-sizes, as most press sheets use this format.
Targeting Target your communications to the right audience so they are more effective, and less money and work is wasted.
Precise Runs Be sure to use the right process. Don’t print more than you need just because it doesn’t cost much more.
Double Sided When possible, printing double sided means half as much paper is used, reducing costs and ensuring that less paper is wasted
98 99
STOP
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Design Decisions : Printers
Printers: Certification This is the easiest way of assessing the environmental qualifications of a printer. As they require independent auditing, you can be sure certificates are fairly given. Criteria assesed vary widely from energy use to waste disposal. Main certifiers are below.
How to Print: (In Impressions) 1-1000 Risograph Digital 1,000 - 50,000 Offset sheet litho Waterless 50,000 + Offset web litho Roto-gravure
Alcohol Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) is a particularly nasty dampening solution. Seek out low-alcohol or alcohol-free printers to avoid this.
Buy Local Envrionmental print efforts can be made completely redundant if you print something far away. Consider the energy and resources used to transport the finished goods to you, and try to reduce them by printing locally and grouping deliveries.
Remember to:
Talk to your printer!
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Design Decisions : Designing Backwards
Waste
Design for destiny; consider reuse; recyclability; compostability.
User
User experience; add value through design; educate; enable action.
Delivery
Design for distribution; explore efficient packaging; reducing layers; alternative distribution.
Storage
Consider print on demand; perform actual usage audit.
S
Bindery
Consider mechanical bindings; eliminate trim waste.
E
Printing
Assess environmental and audience impact of finished project.
Below is a development of the mental process created by Brian Dougherty with Celery Design Collaborative called designing backwards. By brainstorming in this way, one can avoid environmental problems, but also produce concise design that is more appropriate to its goals and content. Text not author’s own.
Design for green printing; explore recycled paper; consider digital printing; UV inks; low VOC printing.
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Myths 1. Recycled paper is more expensive than virgin paper. 2. Recycled paper is usually poor quality. 3. De-inking recycled paper is bad for the environment. 4. One environmental paper is as good as another. 5. By planting trees, the paper industry is ensuring forests are sustainable. 6. Woodfree paper is not made from trees.
Answers 1. Not necessarily. Recycled paper is currently far more widely available than when it was more expensive. Now, it depends on who you buy from and how much you buy.
Websites
2. The quality of recycled paper has improved massively in the past 20 years. It is often impossible to tell the difference.
lovelyasatree.com re-nourish.com wrap.org.uk greenpatriotposters.org
3. The de-inking process currently uses sodium hydroxide, which is found in soap and is also used in low doses for washing vegetables. The ink sludge produced is often harmless enough to use in fertiliser. 4. Being ‘environmentally justified’ doesn’t mean anything unless it is explained and justified. Choose 100% recycled or FSC certified. 5. This is only partially true. There is a large difference between a commercially managed forest void of biodiversity and a healthy natural one. The FSC do however place biodiversity high in their priorities. 6. ‘Woodfree’ only means that a paper does not contain natural substances and visible particles that cause it to yellow over time. The term is being discouraged.
Books - SustainAble - The Green Design & Print Production Handbook - Green Graphic Design - Cradle to Cradle - Green Design
Glossary Alcohol free or low alcohol Litho printing which uses less or no alcohol, thus reducing VOCs. Heavy Metals Metals such as copper and barium which cannot be degraded or destroyed. Higher concentrations than normal lead to poisoning. PEFC The Program for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification Schemes. Acts as an umberella for smaller forestry schemes. Post-consumer Waste Created when something has been used and disposed of by a consumer. Pre-consumer Waste Describes waste produced before it has reached a consumer. A.K.A. post-industrial waste. Solvents Harmful liquids capable of dissolving other substances. VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds are gases and vapours containing carbon. As a gas they help to form photochemical smog and cause various helth issues. As a liquid they affect water and soil quality, also causing helth issues.