Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What can graphic designers do to help keep the printing process green?
  • Be aware of the parent paper sizes and design your art work to get the most on a sheet, leaving less wasted paper.
  • Standards size art work: invitations, brochures, and books that fall into standard sizes and shapes are easier to print, fold or bind and are less expensive to mail.
  • Bundle your jobs, design and print as many elements of the projects at the same time.
  • Minimize the use of metallic inks, UV
  • overprint varnish,
  • aqueous coating,
  • lamination and
  • UV coating (ultraviolet).

All four are available in matte, dull or satin, and gloss formulations. Different coatings perform differently on uncoated paper stock versus coated paper stock; and the different coatings will have an impact on the recyclability of the paper.">coatings and other finishes which can affect the recyclability of the paper after it is use.

  • If you are creating banners, leave a space for smaller sections to for date or time changes so you can reuse the main banner and specific times and dates can be printed on a smaller section and changed as needed.
  • If you are creating pages that will be used a lot by many different people, such as a reference catalogue, thoughtful choices of finishes and coatings can add life to those pages and require less frequent reprinting.

    • What happens to all of the emails sent from an average nonprofit?
    • 18% of emails users are lost to bouncing and churn.
    • Open rates for email messages are 12-13%.
    • Response rates for email messages are .08% to 3.3%
    • Click-through rates are .6% to 3.7%.
    • Compare this to the percentage of mailed items that are read.

    -- eNonrpofit benchmarks Study, 2001

    If printing uses paper, how is it ecologically friendly?
    • Paper has been the most energetically recycled material over time.
    • In 2009, 63.4% of all paper used in the US was recycled and this percentage grows each year.
    • When tress on paper producing tree farms are harvested, new stocks are planted. Three trees are pants for each one felled; over 1.7 million new tress are panted each year in the US.
    • Only 11% of the world’s forests are used for paper, ( 28% for lumber and 53% for fuel)
    • 12 million MORE acres of forest exist in the US than there was 20 years ago.

    - ChoosePrint.org 2010

    Why print? What’s wrong with email?
    • Printed things are read; 80% of households either read or scan advertising mail they receive.
    • Print is tangible, intimate, portable and permanent.
    • Over 70% of adults feel more comfortable reading from paper than a screen.
    • Printed catalogs associated with an online site have been shown to boost spending by 28%.
    • Direct mail catalogs have been shown to provide a 7 to 1 ROI and direct response rate of 2. 24% versus only 48% from emails.

      • - ChoosePrint.org 2010