Seven Eco-friendly Design Tips

Submitted by Christie on Mon, 01/18/2010 - 14:31
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1) Be clear about your budget. It'll help your designer make better decisions.
2) The internet has become the number one source of information, so focus less on print and more on your Web site, e-newsletter, e-invites & blasts, electronic press-kits and social media marketing.
 
If you must print…
 
3) Flyers are viewed by one person then usually discarded immediately. Consider larger pieces such as posters, banners, displays or even billboards. These items have a longer life-span and much bigger reach.
4) Don’t print a lot of pieces with a specific date. Instead, ask your designer to come up with a creative way that will enable you to use the same piece for multiple events. For example, dates can be added via sticker or stamp.
5) Ask your designer to maximize the paper sheet size when coming up the specs for your printed piece. For example, by changing your flyer size to 4” x 5” from 4”x 6”, you can get four flyers out of a 8.5 “x 11” piece of paper instead of three.
6) Ask your designer to provide money-saving options when making ink and paper choices. You can create a stunning piece by using textured or colored paper and only 1-color versus 4-color.
7) When printing quantities less than 500, it's cheaper to choose digital printing instead of offset printing. Offset is higher quality and allows Pantone color-matching, but it's more expensive. Digital allows for full-color at no extra cost, but does not allow color-matching and doesn’t have as many options for eco-friendly paper. 
Resources for green design and printing information:
 

  • Re-Nourish (http://www.re-nourish.com): Re-nourish is dedicated to helping the graphic design community grow into a more sustainable industry. Whatever your experience level, you can use our tools and information to expand your knowledge and build a more sustainable practice. The offer easy to use project calculator, paper and printer finding assistance.
  • Printingforless.com: Great Customer Service; Wind-powered plant, 100% Post-Consumer Waste paper and vegetable-based inks are readily available, but be sure to specify this in your quote request.
  • Global Footprint Network Calculator: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/