Using paper responsibly

Recycled, more or less white, thick… There is a very wide choice of paper. Here are a few points to help you make the right choice:

• Prefer traditional formats, to minimise “paper waste” and therefore wastage;
• Choose the right weight, depending on your needs: a light paper will use fewer raw resources, but a thick paper will last longer and therefore have less impact.;
• Choose environmentally-friendly bleached or recycled paper: bleaching paper often requires products that are harmful to the environment.

With the use of paper quadrupling since the 1970s, forest management is a priority, and labels such as FSC are a guarantee of this. They monitor the supply chain, to certify that a felled tree is compensated by a replanted tree.

Should you choose recycled paper over certified paper? Not necessarily: the impact of collection and processing is significant, and paper can be recycled a maximum of 5 to 7 times before losing its properties. So why not use certified paper for your media and recycled paper for your packaging?

At every stage of production and distribution, printed matter generates waste – paper, ink and solvents. Here are a few things you can do to limit their number:

• Avoid reprinting, because each time you start printing, you will need a large number of “running sheets”;
• Calculate your needs carefully to avoid printing too much and using too much packaging, for example;
• Don’t throw away paper and ink cartridges – recycle them!