Better Green Printing Practices with iTek Graphics
So what is iTek doing to make printing greener?
One of the primary initiatives for iTek is to continuously offer clients a wide range of green paper products that support a sustainable forestry initiative. We offer papers that are certified by: FSC (Forest Stewardship Certification), SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative Certification), and PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification). iTek also provides customers with a wide array of green paper products that contain other types of recycled content or green identities such as Chlorine Free, Carbon Neutral, Renewable Credits, ISO 14001, and Green E.
In addition to endorsing and offering a wide array of green paper products available to businesses, iTek has found that greener mailing practices has also been very effective. According to the Postal Service, direct mail accounts for 5.3% of total U.S. municipal waste. iTek believes that a green conscience starts with a clean mailing list. To help marketers maintain better "list hygiene", iTek uses mailing software that corrects bad data, "de-duplicate" contacts, and flags addresses that are undeliverable. From the new list, iTek customers can execute a direct marketing campaign that reduces paper waste from the very beginning. Consequently, production and postage costs are lowered, while making campaigns more targeted.
iTek also understands that the most eco-friendly practices start with consuming only what is necessary. iTek uses a HP Indigo to give customers the ability to print exactly what they need, when they need it most. This flexibility keeps customers up to speed with the changing business needs of their marketing communications, without having to print in bulk. In addition to lowering printing costs, digital printing on demand lowers paper waste, ink, and energy. Our CTP Kodak Eco Friendly plates exceed the minimum EPA requirements for acidity of the processing chemistry and help to reduce processing water consumption by over 75%.
With regards to printing inks, iTek uses soy vegetable-based inks to ensure greener practices at the plant. Not only does petroleum-based ink cause air pollution by releasing volatile organic compounds (VOC's) into the air, it is also increasingly difficult to remove from paper upon recycling. Steps such as these keep ITEK involved in preserving natural resources and helping to protect the environment.
iTek's "Better Green" printing practices allows us to be able to produce high quality print products that meet your needs, as well as support your corporate sustainability initiatives for environmental responsibility.