Choosing a Sustainable Printer – some information (Part 1 of many…)

 Photo credit: Isaac Bowen

I’ll be honest, I lacked in printer knowledge.  With a communication background, I didn’t spend time learning about printing – and when I first started Polished Promotions, I wanted to believe that people would reduce the amount of printing they did all together.

**sigh** printing continues. At least what we choose to print on can be consciously and thoughtfully chosen.

Here is a fragment of what I have learned – stay tuned for more

·         Not all printers are created alike. Some have very genuine information and are shaping the world one small business at a time. En Masse Media, located here in Vancouver, is one such company. Richard Cooper, owner and printer extraordinaire, not only knows printing inside and out (he comes from a family of printers) but he knows GREEN printing!  But his Green Print thumb isn’t why you’d choose to print with En Masse Media

…Here are 5 reasons why you WOULD choose En Masse (FYI – Richard has no idea I’m blogging about him! But I’ll tell him once I’m done!)

1.       He knows how to use the most of the sheet of paper being printed and cut. Case in point –last week I had to figure out a way to fit a spa menu inside an envelope that would hold a gift card, business card and look like gift wrapping all at the same time so that my client, an environmentally friendly hair salon, (shameless plug) Salon Montage, wouldn’t have to add unnecessary packaging to their presentation. En Masse Media invited me over, sat down with me and together we crafted a great looking, cost effective* design.   It’s with the designer right now getting gussied up!

 

2.    The quality is superb – they use 13.5 pt stock for business card printing (which is thicker than most of the printers I have worked with). I am impressed with the types of output from their work. They just changed their website – you can request a sample kit here

 

3.    It’s cost effective.  We saved paper by creating a long slender envelope, making it possible to fit more on one sheet of printing paper (thus saving trees)

4.    En Masse uses 100% Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) Content – a lot of printers say they have recycled fibre in their paper – but that  doesn’t make it 100% recycled.

 

5.    They’re reliable and fast. If you’ve ever been frustrated with printing schedules – you’ll understand the great feeling of getting printing on time! Because the printing is local, I can even pick it up and hand deliver it to my clients (saving them a few dollars and the courier an extra trip out to their businesses)

Stay Tuned for Part 2 – Find out what your printer can do for your next print job

30 Days to GO Green – 7 tips to Go Green in Your Home

 

30 Days to GO Green – 7 tips to Green Up your Home

Thanks to Brian Clark for the inspiration to write this post based on “Cosmo Headlines.”

My version of a Green Cleanse – introducing tips that will be the start of the next month of posts – right in time to make  your New Year’s Resolutions!

The challenge – go Green for the next 30 days with these tips . We’ll post them a week at a time so you can get prepared and some fun (why not apply the same concepts for your work, your clients and your house?)

1-7 – Green Up Your Home

1.    Organize the recycling – get three separate bins or an all-in-one combination (live in Canada? Canadian Tire, Zellers and Home sense all have versions)

 

2.    Ditch the Ziploc bags for snacks and sandwiches that you pack to work – try out Abeego Designs. Buy at www.abeego.etsy.com. (Just saw them at the One of A Kind Show. They have a funky, functional and reusable hemp and cotton blended sandwich and snack holder)

 

3.    And while you’re at it this week, get yourself a reusable mug for your coffee addiction! A good one will not only prevent all that unnecessary trash from ending up in our landfills, it will also keep your hot drink HOT for longer. (I have a Starbucks one from 3 years ago that I use every day – it keeps my tea hot for hours- no joke!)

 

4.    Read the book “Green Clean” The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home, published by Melcher Media and swap all of the chemicals under your sink for baking soda, vinegar, castile soap, some essential oils and a lemon.  I was surprised how many cleaning solutions I could make for our kitchen and bathroom.

 

5.    Switch your plastic garbage bags to biodegradable ones.  There are Buffalo Bags or Frogfile carries Ecodegradable garbage bags.

 

6.    Keep canvas shopping bags handy in your car (if you have one) and on your keychain.  At our apartment we have a fashionable canvas bag of canvas bags hanging on our front entrance door – helps us remember to bring them with us.

 

7.    Unplug yourself …from the wall –(you’ve probably heard this before but I’ll say it again) TURN OFF your computer and unplug it from the wall and repeat with your lights, small appliances and your cell phone charger.  Save on the hydro bill (if you’re in BC). I’ll likely brag about this again – but our bill (2 people, 530 square feet) is approximately $15 a month.

Stay tuned next week (or sooner) I’ll post 7 more tips to green up your world.

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