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Resources
and FAQ's
Our interest
in environmentally-sensitive design and printing began in 1992 when
principal Sharon Mentyka at Partners in Design sought funding for a
peer education project for design professionals. The project Sound Design: Water Quality Awareness for the Design
Community culminated in a two-day workshop and a series of posters
and informational booklet and was co-funded by The Puget Sound Water
Quality Authority and AIGA/Seattle. Since then, we have continued and
enlarged our commitment to environmentally-sensitive design and printing
and the resources we are offering at our web site reflects this commitment.
You may want to download Partners in Design's comprehensive publication
EcoStrategies
for Printed Communications: An Information and Strategy Guide. This
27-page document addresses many of the questions and issues businesses
face as they try to integrate more environmentally-sensitive design
and printing practices into their communications program and includes
a comprehensive glossary of terms and definitions. The contents are
also available for online
review.
For more on printing ink colors that exceed current EPA maximum
on copper and barium, download Partners in Design's publication True
Colors? Copper and Barium in PMS Colors.
We want to keep this resource list regularly updated and enlarged. This
is just the beginning. Please email
us and let us know if you find that any of these phone numbers or
links are not working properly. And you may find useful answers to some
basic questions at our frequently asked questions
page.
go to resource list
resources
This list
includes the following kinds of resources:
useful publications
professional organizations
environmental organizations
government agencies
paper companies and industry organizations
ink companies and industry organizations
printing resources
Where applicable, we've tried to note useful information or links that
can be made at these sources. Also check our let's
talk page for up to date resources and messages from visitors.
useful
publications
Sound
Design: Water Quality Awareness for the Design Community
a series of four posters highlighting various papers, inks and print
production methods which are more environmentally-sensitive. $10.00
to cover postage and handling. Email
Partners in Design if you would like a set or call (206) 223-0681.
ECO
Ecological Critique & Objectives in Design
inserted in Communication Arts magazine
published by Eva Anderson Design
(401) 351-1211
Recycled Paper: The Essential Guide
by Claudia G. Thompson
published by MIT Press
order from their web site at http://www.mit.edu
The Greenpeace Guide to Paper
available from Greepeace offices in Washington, DC, Seattle, Boston,
Chicago, and San Francisco or visit their web site at http://www.greenpeace.org
professional
organizations
American
Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
National organization of professional graphic designers. Web site address
is http://www.aiga.org or call (800)
548-1634
Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility
(312) 275-2948
Center For Safety in the Arts
(212) 366-6900
Co-op America
(202) 872-5307
Earthsave Foundation
(408) 423-4026
environmental
organizations
National
Recycling Coalition
(703) 683-9025
Worldwatch Institute
(202) 452-1999
Web site: http://www.igc.apc.org/worldwatch
Environmental Action Foundation
(202) 745-4870
government
agencies
EPA Procurement
Hotline
(703) 941-4452
Web site: http://www.epa.gov
Washington State Department of Ecology
(206) 438-7370
Website: http://www.wa.gov
paper
companies and organizations
American
Forest and Paper Institute
(800) 878-8878
Cross Pointe Paper
(612) 644-3644
Simpson Paper
(415) 391-8140
P.H. Glatfelter
(717) 225-4711
Island Paper
(604) 527-2500
Canada
Domtar Paper
(604) 986-7177
Canada
Web site: http: //www.domtar.com
Mohawk Paper
(800) 843-6455
Fox River Paper
(800) 558-8327
wood fiber and tree-free paper
Green Field Paper Company
(619) 338-9432
tree-free papers
Vision Paper
(505) 294-0293
tree-free papers
or visit their new Web
site
James River Paper Company
(800 ) 441-9292 or 415/391-8140
Conservatree Paper Company
(415) 433-1000
Earthcare Paper
(608) 277-2900
Warren Paper
1-800-882-IDEA
At Warren's Web site at http://warren-idea-exchange.com/
you can download the recycling symbols in both Macintosh and Windows
formats as well as get some useful info on their history and use.
ink
companies and organizations
National
Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM)
Fax: (914) 835-5650
Website: http://www.napl.org
American Soybean Association
(314) 576-1770
Web site: http://www.oilseeds.org/asa
Graphic Arts Technical Foundation
(412) 621-6941
Website: http://www.gatf.lm.com
Gans Ink
(206) 624-4267
also check for a local listing near your business
Canadian Fine Color
Bio-tech Inks
(416) 247-6681
Inx, Inc.
(206) 682-4300
also check for a local listing near your business
printing
resources
Varn
Products Company
low VOC press washes
(201) 337-3600
Graphic Arts Technical Foundation
(412) 621-6941
Website: http://www.gatf.lm.com
frequently
asked questions
updated September
28, 1996
Isn't the right
place for recycled-fiber content in tissue and toilet paper, rather than
in printing and writing papers?
In 1993,
roughly 52% of all reclaimed waste paper did go to the tissue industry,
while only 6% went into printing and writing papers. Yet, production
of printing and writing papers makes up 30% of total U.S. paper production.
Downcycling is desirable to recoverpaper from the wastestream but
recycling is at its most efficient when it moves reclaimed materials
to their highest value use.
What about coatings?
Are aqueous coatings safer?
Lamination,
UV coatings, aqueous coatings and traditional varnish all have to
be understood individually. The word "aqueous" automatically
sounds safer, but water is only the carrier; the actual coating in
made from nonrenewable, petrolrum-based acrylics, and solvents must
be used for clean-up.
What about
water-based inks? Are they "earth-friendly?"
Water-based
inks, called flexo inks, are used primarily for packaging and increasingly
for newsprint, and have environmental shortcomings. Unlike offset
inks, they contain toxic alcohol derivities and resins, and this makes
them difficulkt to deink with the increasingly popular floation deinking
process. The fine ink particles reattach themselves to the paper fibers
before they can be washed out. Flexo inks used for packaging may also
still contain lead and chromium-6 in their pigments.
Are vegetable
inks more biodegradable than petroleum inks?
Biodegradability
is a moot point because nothing decomposes in modern landfills. And
since the pigment bases of vegetable inks still contain toxic elements,
waste ink must be disposed of as hazardous waste.
Barium dyes
are ingested for use in medical diagnosis. If it's safe to drink barium,
why is it bad in printing inks?
Barium
sulfate is used for medical X-rays and enemas. As with any chemical
substance, it can be safe in certain forms or dangerous in others.
The barium used in printing inks is inert in the pigment powder and
when safely set on paper. The problem arises when it reacts with solvents,
is burned, or is in highly acidic conditions, like landfills, where
it can leach into groundwater and eventually tapwater.
I use chlorine
for bleach in my washing machine, and it's in our drinking water. If that's
safe, why is it bad in papermaking?
Dioxins
and chlorinated organics form only when chlorine reacts with organic
material under extremely high temperatures, such as what happens in
the carburetors or cars, or in areas after there have been forest
fires. Treated drinking water or water
in your washing machine is not subjected to these high temperatures.
Just what exactly
is glassine and is it better than plastic to use for window envelopes?
Glassine
is vegetable parchment. Either open window envelopes or glassine,
which is water-soluble and breaks down easily in recycling, are preferable
to plastic window envelopes which can cause numerous problems in the
recycling process.
If one specific
color on a page in my PMS book contains barium or copper, does that mean
the whole page should be avoided?
It depends.
If the main mixture is diluted 1:20 parts with transparent white base
or with black, it's not going to have the quantitative effect it would
were it used undiluted. However, other factors should be evaluated,
such as ink coverage and length of run.
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