A Washington, DC printer has the opportunity to reinvent themselves with all the changes going on in the printing industry – new digital equipment, environmentally friendly practices for paper handling and certifications by various organizations that promote green printing practices.

In these economic hard times, which will not last forever, printing companies keep investments aligned with the emerging market trends believe it’s a smart thing to do.  A Virginia printing company continues to carry out research and development on more innovative secondary processes or creative products to offer clients, or develop new technology or methodology that will expedite the printing process.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), are all accredited and many print shops associate themselves with one or all three which are busy educating clients on the true meaning of paper.  However, most publishers want to know if a printing company is accredited. The FSC logo is fast becoming the logo of choice for a printing company and printers across the country because it is the symbol of environmental care for both publishing and printing industries.

There are several choices between 100 percent recycled paper and virgin content. For example, some print shops use paper with high post-consumer recycled fiber content – above 50 percent – as their way of going green. For other print companies, it’s the use of soy, or vegetable-based inks instead of petroleum-based or heavy metal inks as a way of ‘greening’ their printing production. Both of these options still have an environmental impact from harmful by-products, greenhouse emissions and the recycling/deinking that follows as the end result.  Perhaps the best way to minimize impact on the environment is to minimize resource uses and reducing the waste.

The multifaceted roles that print companies have to play now; scientists, environmental warrior, children’s protector, creative thinker, tech geek and logistics expert just to name a few are made possible by their sound fundamentals in business and their strong will to be relevant. However print suppliers can not do this all by themselves.  Publishers must be willing to share the responsibilities, and the costs, and together, no market changes will be too big to handle.