Sustainable printing: Tutorials and tips

Tue, 05.09.2023, 00:00

A flyer with a slightly raised glossy lacquer surface, golden lettering on bright white paper... elaborately finished print products like these certainly make quite an impression, but sustainable printing is a different ball game! Don't worry though: It need not mean you have completely to do away with fine brochures and the like. We give you useful tips for your print and advertising materials so that they not only score through greater their environmental awareness, but also thanks to their good looks and top quality.

1. Less is more: Cut down on ink application

Of course, printed matter design can’t do without colour. However, the application of ink needs to be limited when printing, otherwise longer drying times and undesirable smudging will be the result. This value is usually set at 300%. Excess ink in the print file therefore not only entails a risk to your end product, but also leads to an avoidable waste of resources, because it could have been saved and used for a second job without loss of quality.
 

Option 1: Select the right colour profile To begin with, install the free colour profile "ISO Coated v2 300 %". This prevents the maximum colour application being exceeded during the PDF export of the print data. In InDesign, create the colour profile you have already downloaded under the Output tab Download color profiles

Option 2: Adjust colour application manually If you want to be on the safe side, you can also carry out this step manually in Photoshop. Adjust pixel graphics 1 Open the Info window in the menu bar via the Window tab. Click on the 'burger' menu (top right) and select Control Panel Options. 2 Here you can select the setting Total colour application under Second colour value display.Next, move the cursor to the darkest part of the image. Now you can see its overall colour application. Adjust it if necessary, as already explained above.   Customise vector objects 1 Select theobject with the selection tool. 2Click on the foreground colour icon in the toolbar and adjust the CMYK colour sliders so that the total order does not exceed 300%.

2. Do without unnecessary finishes

Finishes can make a big difference to a document, depending on its use and purpose. However, they also lead to the use of additional materials and energy, which you should definitely take into account when choosing them! The bottom line: more finishes mean more resources. So it is best to opt for a more sustainable variant that has the lowest possible energy consumption.

? Tip: A well thought-out design can usually manage without foil coatings, thick lacquers or glossy coatings. However, if you still prefer to have your print products finished, you can use one of the following options.

Option 1: Embossing instead of coating With embossing (high and deep embossing) and sometimes also die-cutting, impressive 3D effects can be created without the need for additional materials. Furthermore, the end product can be easily recycled.

Option 2: Natural refining In the case of lacquers, glossy dispersion lacquers or soft-touch lacquers should be used. These consist mainly of natural components such as water, binders, resins and waxes and therefore present a sustainable alternative.

 

3. Use product samples to help you decide

So many materials and finishes are available. How are you supposed to make a choice? Easy: with the help of a product sample book, which you can download for free, from FLYERALARM. This will give you an accurate picture of what materials and printing properties are possible in advance, so you can make a choice that perfectly fits your requirements. This allows you to avoid unnecessary transport and time costs due to possible returns. FLYERALARM offers a wide range of product samples for various product types:

  

printed product

promotional items

advertising technology

clothing

4. Use natural and recycled papers
High-quality printing papers have their gloss and strength for a reason: the luxury feel is often achieved through additional coatings, heavy grammages and coated surfaces However machines use additional energy and materials in their creation. Furthermore, such paper types are usually anything but sustainably produced and can make the recycling process more difficult afterwards.

So why not use natural or recycled paper natural or recycled paperfor your next order? These paper types are either almost untreated and produced in a resource-saving way or are made directly from 100% waste paper. And to cap it all, FLYERALARM’s range of such papers is immense! From classic natural paper with a cream-coloured look to numerous FSC and PEFC -certified paper types and high-quality branded papers, the selection is huge - and furthermore is constantly growing! Here are a few examples from the house of Gmund:

Gmund Linen Paper, e.g. for professional business cards  business cards

Gmund Colour Paper, e.g. for colourful cushion packaging

Gmund Bauhaus Dessau paper, e.g. for professional pads with covers

5. Avoid waste: Choose the right grammage
Strong and tear-resistant papers usually have a high grammage, which is the measurement of the weight of the paper per square metre. If this is low, however, it does not necessarily indicate inferior quality. On the contrary! Often thinner materials can convey an elegant, high quality image. And you save yourself additional postage costs, to boot, because the more your order weighs, the higher the postage costs.

1. Conduct thorough research  Find out in advance about the typical uses of the different grammages. Sample question: Does the stationery for a customer invoice really have to be 120g or would 80g do just as well?
2  Assess the cost-benefit factor Think carefully about what the product will be used for, what it will have to withstand and its intended target group.

 
6. Only the bare necessities: Check your circulation
Surplus printed products are more often than not useless and end up in the waste-paper basket. These represent wasted resources and ultimately money thrown away! So adjust your order quantities as far as possible to match the quantity actually consumed. Of course, you should never calculate your order too tightly, because ultimately your advertising media should reach as many people as possible. However, there is no need to produce hundreds of spare copies that you already know are unlikely ever to be needed.

--> Tip: As all your orders are stored in your FLYERALARM account, you can simply reorder another batch as and when required.

7. Ensure that your printing is carbon-neutral

All production, whether with sustainable materials or not, requires energy and therefore releases greenhouse gases (e.g._CO2). To offset the amount of greenhouse gases released, FLYERALARM offers the option of "climate-neutral printing" for numerous products. This means specifically: You pay a certain amount more for your product, which FLYERALARM will in turn invest in certified climate protection projects. For example, in Ghana for improved living conditions through the use of more efficient cooking stoves, in Taiwan for clean energy from wind power or in Mali for energy-efficient cooking stoves for urban households. You can find out more about CO2 compensation at FLYERALARM here.

To select the "climate-neutral printing" option in the online shop

Simply tick "climate-neutral printing" in the "Base price" section of the order process. And that's it.

Conclusion: Sustainable printing is easier than you might think

You see: Thanks to a few simple tricks, you can have your promotional products produced with a much smaller ecological footprint. The visual and haptic quality of your printed products does not have to suffer at all. On the contrary: With smart materials, nature-loving designs and climate-neutral production, you give them an additional quality factor and position yourself as a responsible company at the same time.