Staying Green in a Tough Economic Climate

Responsible business is good business. This is a belief we have held to since opening our doors 10 years ago when we set out to be the leading environmental paper company in North America. Our mission was to shift paper market toward sustainability and we have enjoyed considerable success. However, the tough economic climate has caused some to question whether they can afford to stay green. We genuinely appreciate this concern and are happy to report that the answer is yes. In fact, there is not a better time than a tough economic time to demonstrate integrity to your values. We understand that every dollar counts, and we focused this newsletter on creative cost-saving strategies. We believe in ‘Staying Green in a Tough Economic Climate’, and we’ll provide you with some tips on how to do so. Please reach out to us to see how we can help you stay green in a tough economic climate.

Warm regards, Jeff Mendelsohn, Founder & CEO

Getting More with Less

New Leaf Paper would like to help you use less paper. No really! We support using paper wisely, as using less paper saves both environmental and financial resources. To help you stay green and manage to your budget, we have compiled a list of tips to help you economize when making environmental paper purchase decisions.

• Drop Your Basis Weight. In our experience, we find that many print projects end up on heavy basis weights by default - “that is the way we have always done it.” Dropping from 100# text to 80# text saves 20% of the paper budget for a project, and the 80# text might accomplish the same goals. New Leaf has two coated papers that make it possible to have your cake and eat it too. New Leaf Reincarnation Matte and New Leaf Sakura Silk are both highly bulky papers that enable our customers to reduce basis weight without compromising the desired bulk or stiffness of the end product. Drop your basis weight and lower your cost – do right by the environment and your budget.
• Optimize your Trim Size. Most printing paper is sold in standardized sheet sizes, which were established for efficient printing of the most common trim sizes. If you are producing a project with a custom format – be sure to consult your printer to ensure maximum utilization of the press sheet. Sometimes a minor change in trim size can result in significant savings and more efficient use of resources.
• Small is beautiful. Consider reducing the size or page count of your print project. By opting for a smaller size - 6x9 or 7x10 instead of 8.5x11 for example - you can increase the efficiency and lower the cost of your print production and paper usage. Work with your designer and print partner upfront to solve for the economics of your project while still making a strong environmental choice.
• Paper partnership. Our customers have experienced great success in reducing paper costs through partnership. By working together with the printer and the end user, we can often arrive at standardized specifications for repeat projects so that the printer can order paper in larger quantities in fewer shipments. This results in a win, win, win solution – lower paper costs, reduced carbon footprint, and stock on-hand for immediate availability.

Stories from the Field: Adding value with New Leaf's Eco-Audit

Article by Vince Fausone, New Leaf Paper Sales Representative

Environmentally responsible businesses leverage the New Leaf Paper Eco-Audit to communicate their environmental commitment to coworkers and customers. Our Eco-Audit quantifies the environmental savings in terms of trees, water, energy, solid waste, and greenhouse gases realized by using post-consumer recycled paper instead of virgin paper. Many New Leaf Paper customers reproduce the Eco-Audit right in their printed materials, resulting in a powerful environmental message, however there are many ways the Eco-Audit can be leveraged.

Leverage the Eco-Audit during design and quoting. By providing an Eco-Audit during quoting, a print salesperson adds value to the recycled quote and can help their customers reproduce the Eco-Audit right in their printed materials. End users can also contact New Leaf Paper directly for an Eco-Audit during the design phase of a project in order to get Eco-Audit artwork.

Get a framed annual Eco Audit and share your annual impact! Many New Leaf customers hang a framed annual Eco-Audit in their office to communicate internally the environmental benefits of their paper choices. Contact us to get one for your office.

No job is too small. No print job is too small to have an environmental impact. One of our print partners leveraged the Eco-Audit on the back of their business cards. “If we can save this amount of natural resources by printing our business cards on recycled paper just think what the environmental savings would be if a large print job were to be moved over to recycled paper.” Nice work!

For more information about O'Neil Printing, please contact president, Tony Narducci, at 602-258-7789 or visit www.oneilprint.com.