Green printing tip #6: Is Spot Color printing environmentally friendly?

It's Tuesday and it means it's time for another valuable tip on our weekly series of green printing tips, where we bring you in collaboration with Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer.

Today Greg is discussing offset printing in general and color printing specifically.

Is Spot Color printing environmentally friendly?

Tip #6

Yes. Custom Pantone®, Spot Color Printing, uses significantly less paper, ink, solvents, and energy, compared to normal four color offset printing. We use vegetable based inks, consisting of Soya, Chinawood and Linseed , which are all renewable products.

Our inks are manufactured locally, without lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium compounds.

While many printing jobs are created in CMYK (4 colors), many traditional clients want their specific corporate pantone color(s). Many of our clients feel that offset printing is better than digital and would never change.

Offset printing leaves a flater color, or no extra shine, than digital printing. That is important to many clients. Offset printing is easier to keep consistent, run to run, as we keep the pantone ink for each client. So, we feel our offset department will continue to be busy, and environmental.

If you have any further questions following our tips, or you have a specific question you want us to address, please email us to info@ecolibris.net .

More green printing tips:

Green Printing Tip #5 - How to avoid being greenwashed when buying printing services?

Green Printing Tip #4 - What does FSC Certified mean? Is it enough?

Green Printing Tip #3 - How you make sure everyone knows you're using green printing practices

Green Printing Tip #2 - How you can make money while printing on 100% recycled paper

Green Printing Tip #1 - Go for a digital job

You can also find further valuable information on Greg Barber Company's website - http://www.gregbarberco.com.

All the tips are archived and saved on http://www.ecolibris.net/greentips.asp (part of our green printing tools & resources page).

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net