design products
that use fewer, sustainably produced and where possible
locally obtained materials, e.g. recycled timber
or FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood
from local forest thinnings in construction projects,
or UK manufactured recycled polypropylene in product
design.
-
design for durability. Too
many products have built-in obsolescence, which
means that they have to be replaced and discarded
earlier than necessary. Design should allow for
upgrading or adaptation (e.g. computer hardware).
-
design for re-usability or
recyclability. Many products are difficult to re-use
or recycle after their normal lifetime, because
of the (mixture of) materials used in their production.
-
green your office. Whether
you are freelance or work for a large agency, there
are simple steps that you can take to reduce your
environmental impact (see Greening the Office).
•
Greening Graphic Design
-
specify recycled
grades for print jobs or at the very least an Elemental
Chlorine Free (ECF) paper.
-
avoid or minimise bleeding
of images. It will reduce the printing cost, increase
the value of printer's waste and (ultimately) require
less de-inking.
-
avoid lamination or varnishing
where not necessary. This treatment can render the
product non-recyclable. However if varnishing is
required, make sure that aqueous formulations are
used (additional information on glues and varnishes
is available from paperback).
-
using screened or textured
areas rather than solids saves ink and can often
produce more interesting results
-
suggest to your printers that
they use vegetable-based inks. Vegetable oils are
renewable and by replacing petroleum distillates
they reduce the use of volatile organic compounds.
-
avoid the use of metallic
inks, especially if there is evidence that they
contain toxic chemicals
-
initiate discussions with
your printers about possible environmental improvements
in the print room (see Greening the Print Room).
•
Designing for Recycled Paper
During the
last ten years recycled paper has come of age. In the
1980's, the choice of recycled papers was very limited
and most products were of inferior quality. Nowadays,
the quality of the papers has much improved. Moreover,
the range is now very wide, with coated, uncoated, letterhead,
text and cover papers and office papers as well as speciality
grades. However, when designing a job which is going to
be printed on recycled paper, the following hints may
still be useful:
-
avoid the use
of heavy solids on absorbent and unstable papers.
-
allow for some extra dot
gain on recycled (especially uncoated) substrates
and use appropriate screen rulings.
-
a positive aspect of most
recycled papers is their higher opacity. For this
reason, it is possible to use lighter weights than
virgin equivalents (e.g. an 80gsm instead of a 100gsm
or a 100gsm instead of a 115gsm). This can result
in paper (and therefore cost) savings of up to 25%.
-
the natural white shade of
some recycled papers is particularly suited where
soft tones rather than sharp contrasts are required.
-
if bright colours or sharp
contrasts are needed, it is best to treat off-white
recycled papers as tinted paper. The shade (which
typically contains a % yellow and a % cyan) can
be pre-scanned and should be compensated for in
colour reproduction.
-
to obtain a deeper black on
some recycled grades, it helps to print the black
with an underlay of cyan (e.g. 50%).
-
when using some of the more
absorbent papers, it is particularly important to
use good quality photos with the maximum amount
of contrast. Current software packages often allow
enhanced contrast levels of images.
-
sealing the paper on the first
unit of a multi-colour press can also enhance reproduction
on uncoated stock.
-
when specifying uncoated
or lightly coated papers, suggest to the printer
the use of high pigment strength and low tack inks,
so that a higher concentration of ink can be absorbed
by the sheet. Sometimes it helps to apply the ink
in several layers with a booster plate. Bright colours
such as yellow, orange and red cover better than
dark colours such as black, dark blue and dark green.
They also reduce the risk of a mottled appearance.
As a general
principle, make sure that you select the right paper for
the job. Positive liaison between printer, designer and
paper supplier helps to minimise conflicts between what
the client wants or expects and what the printing process
and the substrate can achieve.
paperback
offer a complete sample service including plain and printed
samples, and paper for mock-ups or trials.
