Hang on, isn’t recycled paper of lower quality than normal paper?

That used to be the case for sure, with recycled papers having a noticeable off-whiteness about them, but the paper and printing industry has moved forward so far in the last 10 years. Modern papers and cards are indistinguishable from virgin (unrecycled) alternatives. We know how important it is to have have professional paper of the highest quality for your reports, brochures, business cards etc and we wouldn’t be happy unless we knew you were being offered the best. That’s why we’ve spent a long time sourcing our stocks so you can be sure no-one will know you’ve used recycled paper…unless you want them to. It’s easy for us to add a recycled logo wherever you want to show your audience your environmental credentials.

Surely, recycled paper is more expensive though?

We’ve worked very hard with our suppliers to bring down the cost of recycled paper to pretty much the same as standard, unrecycled papers. In fact, the cost of the paper is one of the smaller percentages for print jobs – the number of pages and inks used are much more important.

Just how ‘green’ is recycled paper?

No-one needs convincing that it makes more sense to re-use paper than to put it in landfill or incinerate it.

A recent study by WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme), found that the production of 1 tonne of 100% recycled paper saves 1.32 tonnes of carbon dioxide when compared to paper made from unrecycled fibre. On average, over the life-cycle of recycled paper, 50% less energy is consumed as opposed to incinerating it. To put it another way, making paper directly from trees and then burning it, uses up twice as much energy as recycling (even factoring in that incineration plants produce electricity for domestic and industrial consumption). What’s more, the study showed that producing 1 tonne of recycled paper required 30,000 fewer litres of water than producing the equivalent amount of traditional, unrecycled paper.

Sounds yummy, but what are vegetable based inks?

In standard inks, the oil content is a petrol derivative and is therefore from a non-renewable source. The oil portion of vegetable based inks comes mainly from the soya plant. There are some restrictions when using these inks, but so far we’ve never had a problem in recreating standard colours and finishes including metallic and luminous ones.

How can I be sure that your printers are ‘environmentally friendly’?

We use different printers for different jobs. When we use those that say they are ‘environmentally friendly’, we make sure that they have the correct environmental certifications for their business practices (ISO 14001 gained from a UKAS auditor), that they themselves recycle their unused paper or offcuts and that they have Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody certification. This last point means that you can be sure that the paper they use can be tracked back through every stage of the felling, manufacture and transportation process to forests managed with environmentally, socially and economically sensitive practices.