Sustainability & Print
There's nothing wrong with choosing not to print a pdf, email, or not use paper if you don't need to. But it may be very surprising to some to learn that we aren't saving a tree when we choose not to print.
Trees used for most industrial and consumer products such as paper originate from managed forests and are a renewable resource just like any other organic crop. North America for example is a net grower of trees.
Managed forests that are economically sustainable are very positive for the environment. While trees are growing, they remove carbon-dioxide from the air, replace it with oxygen to breathe, and create a habitat for wildlife. When trees from a managed forest are harvested, they are typically replaced with more trees than were used, creating a self-sustaining process that is economically and environmentally beneficial.
Paper and cardboard products used by the print industry add an extra value to this economic process because these products use the trees that have no value for lumber, or are scraps from bigger trees that cannot be used for anything else, both of which are considered waste otherwise. Paper and cardboard used in printing are also products that can have recycled products added into them, thus reducing waste.
Picture for a moment what might happen to that land we use to grow trees for lumber, paper, and cardboard if we were to stop consuming those products? The forest land would become less valuable, and would then be used for something else with more economic value. Agriculture, housing & retail buildings, industrial zones, instead of swaths of trees? In all likelihood, if we make choices that devalue paper & print, cardboard, lumber, and other wood-based products, the lands that maintain their forests would be repurposed for something less environmentally beneficial than growing vast amounts of trees.
Feel proud that we have this organic technology that turns trees into sheets of paper and a process like print that turns them into books we can use to learn from, improve ourselves with, or just enjoy. Print is good!
Sustainability and printMe1.com
We are committed to taking steps to ensure our process is a sustainable solution, and that our PDF printing service includes sustainability as a factor in the choices we make.
printMe1.com’s Process: On-Demand Printing Is Efficient
As a print-on-demand printer, printMe1.com is part of the "distribute then print" process. In situations where not everyone may want or require a print version of a particular PDF file, resources can be used efficiently when the decision to create a paper version lies in the hands of the end-user.
If you distribute PDF‛s electronically to a large user base, please check out our PDF Hosting service as a way to provide your PDF by link, ready to download for free or checkout for a print on demand. Perfect for Open Educational Resources (OER), titles in the public domain, or works you created yourself.
Here’s more about printMe1.com’s sustainability and how we print, bind, and package your PDF’s when using our PDF printing service:
Our Paper: Print Grows Trees
We support sustainable forestry through responsible preservation and certification. The paper we use is purchased from a certified supplier of FSC™, SFI® and PEFC® papers, or from a manufacturer that is ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Standard) certified. Those certifications mean our paper should be viewed as a crop that is harvested rather than a resource that is expended. Using paper makes trees more valuable to be replanted and managed, therefore more trees are grown. Learn how "Print Grows Trees". Our paper choices will change from time to time. Please check out our blog for current information on the paper use. Our print shop participates in our community recycling program so any paper, paperboard, or cardboard waste from our printing process is recycled.
Our Toner: Renewable components, Recycled Waste
Our printing equipment uses a plant-based polymerized toner, made from a biomass resource that is renewable, and also requires less energy during the printing process when your prints are made. The image quality is superior to toners made from pulverized plastic, making your prints look great too. Our toner uses plants in places where other toners use plastics. That's cool!
Waste toner is collected in PET containers and returned to the manufacturer as part of our service agreement and is recycled into new toner.
Our Packaging 100% Recyclable
Our packaging is 100% paper & cardboard based. We use paper for wrapping and filler when necessary. Our packages are cardboard. The tape we use to seal the box is made from paper. All items are easily recyclable.
Conclusion
Print is an environmentally sustainable industry and when you choose to print, you are helping its economic sustainability. The main component of print, paper, comes from forests and using forest-based products creates an economic value that ensures the environmental benefits we enjoy from them continue for generations.
printMe1.com has taken responsible steps to make sure we are using environmentally sustainable products when possible for our pdf printing service.
When you think, "Should I print my pdf?" Hopefully the answer now is a resounding yes. If you want to print your pdf, you definitely should!
#printisgood