GREEN is the marketing theme of the year, but to us here at Whitman Communications, it's more than just a buzzword. It's not just recycling paper, or using eco-friendly inks. It means procurring a better future for our children. That's why we try to take an eco-friendly approach to all our operations by minimizing waste, complying with Forest Stewardship Council standards to help preserve forests and keeping abreast of the latest in green printing methods.

• Use eco-friendly papers
• Reduce or eliminate toxic chemicals, ink, and solvents
• Be willing to use vegetable-based inks without any change in price
• Educate customers about how to reduce a project's environmental impact

Here are some questions to ask your printer before you go to press:

1. Can this job be printed on paper that contains a high percentage of post-consumer recycled fiber?

The answer will usually be yes. Whitman Communications will help you determine which product will best suit your print needs while lowering the environmental impact. With advances in recycling technology, it's become hard to tell the difference between recycled and non-recycled paper. As an FSC Certified printer, we have practical knowledge about the characteristics and advantages of different types of recycled paper. Don't accept "Yeah, we can use recycled paper" as an answer. Let us help you make a well informed decision on environmentally friendly printing.

2. Can it be printed with low-polluting, low-VOC inks?

Chances are we will print it using an environmentally friendly ink. Our standard inks that we use are vegetable based, have an extremely low VOC count (less than 3% by EPA Method 24) and contain 60%+ bio-derived, renewable and sustainable raw materials. For 90% of jobs, soy- or vegetable-based inks work just as well. We avoid inks containing heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury and are ready to help suggest environmentally conscious alternatives.

3. What can be done to improve the recyclability of my print job?

Coatings, glues, laminates, inks, foils, adhesives, labels, and paper type can all affect the recyclability of a printed document. Our recycling process involves organizing our waste based on its recyclability, and we can offer you tips and alternatives on creating a beautiful piece with low environmental impact.

What can you do to help?

1. Buy recycled paper with a high post-consumer waste content.
2. Buy Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper to ensure that the fibre comes from forests that are sustainably managed.
3. Buy tree free paper made from agricultural residue (cotton, hemp, flax, kenaf, etc.).
4. Any combination of the above.

Understanding Recycled Paper

This symbol means that the product is made from material that has been used before. If there is no qualifying statement (ex. "60% post consumer recycled content"), then the symbol means the product is 100% recycled.

• Recycled content - Content made from reprocessed waste materials. Recycled content is usually measured as a percent of total weight.
• Post-consumer content - Material that has completed its life cycle as a consumer item and is reconstituted into post-consumer recycled fibre.
• Pre-consumer content - By-products generated after the manufacturing process is completed and then reconstituted into pre-consumer recycled content.

"Recycled paper" does not mean it is 100% recycled paper, it only means there is some recycled content. Amount of recycled content could range from 100 percent (entirely recycled paper !) to 1 percent. Look for the recycled symbol and see if there is more specific information beside it. This is where you should find the amount of recycled content.  The more "post-consumer" recycled content the better.

Forest Stewardship Council
The FSC logo identifies products that contain wood from responsibly managed forests that have been independently certified according to the rules of the FSC. Wherever you see the logo you can be sure the product is from well-managed forests. As with paper, there is usually text by the symbol saying how much of the paper content is FSC certified. Like recycled, the more the better. Any combination of FSC certified, and recycled is also good. For example: Paper with 40 percent FSC certified content, 60 percent recycled content equals 100 percent forest friendly paper!

Non-tree / Alternative papers
Not all paper is made from trees. Some paper comes from agricultural waste (i.e. the parts of the plant that we don't eat), others come from crops grown for the purpose of alternative paper production such as bamboo, cotton, hemp, flax or kenaf. Paper made from any tree-free source is good for the forests. However, because alternative paper is still in it's infancy, costs tend to be greater.

We here at Whitman try to keep in mind the recycler's mantra:

"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle".

If we all stick with these three steps, we are doing good by the forests.

Reduce

• We are FSC certified and use 50% post-consumer content as our standard house stock.
• We offer pdf "soft-proofs" when applicable to help save paper and gas.

Reuse

• We reuse make readies as long as possible.
• We use our trims and scrap pieces for machine setup.
• All of our internal notepads and scrap paper are created with waste left from jobs.
• We reuse or recycle our cardboard containers from paper purchases.

Recycle

• We separate all our paper waste into groups based on recyclability and recycle ALL of our paper waste.
• We break down and recycle all our aluminum printing plates.
• We properly contain and keep records of all our chemical waste for disposal/treatment.