Earth Day is on April 22, and Print Tech has some green printing tips that are earth and wallet friendly.

Print on recycled paper.

Using recycled paper saves trees from being cut down, reduces demands on energy and water, and diminishes the amount of paper that ends up in landfills.

Reduce VOC's by requesting vegetable-based inks.

The health effects from breathing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) can range from headaches and dizziness to damage to the central nervous system. Print Tech has reduced the risk of VOC exposure to employees and customers by using vegetable-based printing inks as the pigment base. Unlike traditional printing inks, vegetable oils such as soy, linseed and safflower contain very low VOC's.

Avoid the use of metallic or fluorescent inks.

Most of these inks contain harmful elements in the pigments including heavy metals like zinc, cadmium and copper that could threaten our soil and ground water after reaching the landfill.

Design earth friendly.

Printing on standard sized papers eliminates the need to print on a larger sheet and trim away the waste.

Full bleeds (running images and color off the edge) not only require larger sheets of paper, but they also require more ink, press time and money.

Print only what you need.

Print Tech's Digital Printing Department can print exactly the number of pieces you need. You no longer have to pay for 500 postcards when all you need is 122. You’ll save money and reduce the waste stream to the landfill.

For more information about printing green, call Print Tech at 1-800-422-5527 or visit us at www.print-tech.com.