Last Updated on June 20, 2023 by Packoi Team
Choose sustainable printing methods so you can genuinely claim that your brochures positively impact the environment.
So if you want sustainable printed materials, keep reading to learn more.
This article will teach you the 4 different eco-friendly techniques to print your brochure. You’ll even learn about some brochure paper materials that you can use to keep your business sustainable.
The Truth about Sustainable Brochures
Having sustainable brochures is great for your brand’s reputation. It’ll tell your customers that you’re serious about making a positive impact on the environment.
But as mentioned, it’ll take more than just recycled paper to make your brochures eco-friendly. Think about it.
Even if you use recyclable materials, if you use petroleum-based ink, that’ll compromise its sustainability. Recycling facilities won’t accept your brochure to be recycled.
Not only that, the printing process results in carbon emissions. For instance, one printed page from a laser printer emits 1g of carbon dioxide.
What does this mean? Your printing methods should take into consideration the carbon footprint of the process.
4 Sustainable Printing Methods to Create Your Brochure
The printing industry uses several methods to print on all types of materials. One is relief printing like flexography and letterpress. Another is planographic printing like offset lithography. You also have recess printing and stencil printing.
These are all effective methods to print on paper or any material. But these aren’t always eco-friendly print practices.
If you want to use a specific sustainable printing method, there are other options that you can consider. These aren’t exactly new methods. But there have been tweaks to the processes so you can use them without causing too much harm to the environment.
Here are the 4 options that you can look into.
LED UV Printing
This type of printing technique is the advanced version of UV printing. The wavelength generated by the LED UV printing is 385 to 395 nanometers of the light spectrum. This makes it a safer alternative.
Not only that, but this method is faster because it doesn’t use traditional print drying technology. The LED UV printing technique makes use of ultraviolet light that results in an instant drying process.
The output shows a more vivid color and crisp design in a glossy finish. The instant drying process of this print method also means there’s no need for a sealing coat or an anti-set-off powder.
This makes LED UV printing eco-friendly because there’s less consumption of power. It’s not just because of the shorter process of printing.
Machines are equipped with an automatic on/off feature that puts them on standby mode in between printing tasks. This alone reduces carbon emissions. It also doesn’t have any Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC emissions).
Digital Printing
This eco-friendly printing method is another option that you can use for your brochures. Digital printing is a method that allows ink to be directly printed on a sheet of paper. This means you don’t need to create a separate printing plate to use this method.
The digital printing machine transfers the ink from the machine to the top substrate layer. This minimizes material waste – at least, compared to the traditional printing techniques that use printing plates.
Not only that, but the eco-friendly digital printing method shortens the whole process. An hour run can produce more than 4,000 sheets of printed paper. This makes it the cost-efficient option for smaller print job orders.
It follows an easier and simpler process. This minimizes its carbon emissions and makes it a more sustainable option.
Foil Printing
This printing method is proof that you can be sustainable with your brochure without sacrificing its visual appeal. The truth is, some people think that foil printing isn’t an eco-friendly printing technique. That’s because it uses metallic foil that seems toxic to the environment.
But the thing is, foiling is eco-friendly. Foil is both compostable and recyclable so it has a positive effect on the environment.
There are two types of foiling.
Cold foiling uses a printing plate to apply the metallic foil to the brochure. This application uses adhesive – making it the more eco-friendly option because it consumes less energy.
Hot stamping uses a heated die to apply the foil. The adhesive side of the metallic foil is activated when heat is applied to it. This leaves an impression of the design on the surface. While it consumes more energy, the results are more vivid and shiny in the end.
Carbon-Balanced Printing
This doesn’t refer to a specific printing method only. It involves the whole printing company and its carbon footprint.
To use this method, you have to look for a printer that holds a Carbon Balanced Printing certification. Certificate holders have passed the standards for carbon dioxide output.
These companies aren’t only concerned about the actual process of printing. They’ve also invested in methods that’ll eliminate their carbon emissions – or at the very least, ensure that they reverse or reduce most of it.
These efforts include using printing machines that use electric or hybrid methods, double-glazed windows, efficient product lines, and automatic lighting. All these can minimize the CO2 output of any printing company.
Eco-Friendly Brochure Materials that the Paper Industry Can Offer
Once you’ve figured out the printing process that you’ll use, it’s time to finalize the paper that you’ll use for your brochure.
There are many environmentally- friendly paper materials that you can use. Of course, using paper is already a sustainable move. Paper comes from a renewable source. But you can elevate the sustainability of paper by choosing any of these 3 materials.
Recycled Paper
The first option is to use recycled paper. One of the reasons why the paper is considered to be sustainable is because the recycled paper cycle can happen up to 7 times.
So if you use paper from recycled materials to create your brochure, you won’t have to worry that your marketing material will end up in a landfill after. It can still be sent to a recycling facility to go through another paper cycle. It can be used to create another paper product.
Maybe this time, it can be transformed into a paper bag. Or another brochure.
Uncoated Paper
Another eco-friendly material that you can use to create your brochure is uncoated paper. This is a paper type that doesn’t have any coating that’s used to fill spaces between the fibers to make it smoother.
This makes the surface of uncoated paper rougher to the touch and a bit more porous. In effect, it’ll be more absorbent than coated paper. Technically, this will make the image less sharp compared to what you’ll get when you use coated paper.
This seems like you have to choose between eco-friendly paper and your brochure’s design. But the truth is, with the right printing technique, you can achieve both.
No, that doesn’t mean you have to use more ink and be wasteful to achieve the design output that you want. If you use LED UV printing, you can achieve a vivid print even if it’s on uncoated paper.
Carbon Balanced Paper
All types of production and manufacturing processes emit carbon dioxide. This is why if you want to create an eco-friendly brochure, choose carbon-balanced paper.
This type of paper that’s sourced from responsibly managed forests. It was also produced with the least amount of carbon footprint. The company that manufactured it used methods and machinery that minimizes and reverses carbon emissions.
From the moment it’s sourced, produced, and delivered – all these processes use minimal CO2.
If the printing services use an eco-friendly method to print on carbon-balanced paper, this will increase the sustainability of your brochure.
Let’s Talk about the Best Eco-Friendly Printing Techniques. Partner with Packoi Printing to Create Sustainable Brochures.
Distributing an eco-friendly brochure is a great way to build a sustainable reputation for your company. Study shows that companies that support and apply eco-friendly methods are more likely to be patronized by customers.
If you want to improve your reputation through your brochure, choose the right printing technique and paper materials.
It’s not a complicated process to follow – you just have to find the right partner to work with.
Packoi Printing is a printing company that you can trust when it comes to creating eco-friendly brochures. We have a lot of sustainable paper stock that you can choose from – all sourced from responsibly managed forests.
Let’s discuss how we can create your brochure in the most environmentally friendly way.
Give us a call and we’ll get back to you with a fair quote as soon as possible.
