Why Are Green Printing Eco - Friendly?

A new trend is being followed by the people known as "Go Green". Similarly take part in green printing which means saving the environment. Green printing means making the environment eco - friendly by using eco - friendly colors. The industries have polluted the environment hugely but now they are trying to use eco - friendly color. Even with the new technologies we still havent change the way of printing.

The environment can be saved by using papers which can be recycled. A printer which is eco - friendly to the environment is used by most of the companies. Petroleum based ink produces carbon emission which is harmful to both environment and to people. It is better to use vegetable or soy ink. This ink gives better quality and brighter colors. The news paper company mainly uses the soy ink. The benefits of recycling the paper are - less pollution, trees are live and less energy. Just think that in few years there wont be any trees.

Recycle paper are benefit for global warming and trees. The wastage of paper is generated from printing industries. The petroleum ink releases a harmful gas like volatile organic compounds. If this vapor is inhaled by a person then there are chances for getting asthma attack. The printing industries consume lot of electricity and fossil fuels in higher volume. Due to this, the natural resource poses a threat to the lives on earth.

Tips on environment printing:

Recycle the cartridge which is less expensive.
Save and recycle paper by printing both sides. Print only when it is important.
Buy eco - friendly printer.
Use only soy ink

A printing factory is dependent on trees and water for paper. These are the main key ingredients which are not eco - friendly to the environment. The four main uses of green printing is - ink, paper, electricity and knowledge. The soy ink is extracted from soya bean oil. Then the oil is mixed with wax, resins and pigments to provide desired color. The ink is harmless because it needs fewer pigments. The ink can be easily removed from paper.

Setting up a green printing company is not easy and is very expensive. The printers cost a lot but are very useful. In green printing, only green graphic design is provided with paper which is recycled. This means that a lot of trees are not chopped and the water is use for eco - friendly printer is reduced. This leads to reduction of destroying the forests for paper and water wastages is less which is healthy for the environment.

- By: Paul Thomas -

Holiday Gift Ideas That Are Simple & Sustainable

Americans throw away, on average, about 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared to any other time of the year. That equals about 25 million tons of trash during the Holidays above and beyond what we would already throw away. Unfortunately, due to high metallic and dye content in gift-wrap and the short fibers in tissue paper, most traditional gift-wrap is not recyclable.

Consider giving gifts that are both environmentally friendly and creative this holiday season. For instance, consider giving the gift of an experience. Not only does an experience create a lasting memory, it also does not create more clutter in your home or more trash in our landfills.

Gifts of Experience
Tickets to a concert, play or movie
Gift Certificate for a Spa Service such as a massage or facial.
Professional Lessons in one of the arts (Dance, Music, or Singing)
A Service with a professional such as a session with a Feng Shui Consultant or a professional organizer
Gift certificate for Travel

For smaller or less expensive gifts, think about a consumable or disappearing gift such as coffee, home-made baked goods, or flowers. For example, you could give some organic coffee along with biscotti and/or chocolates. I would also recommend choosing one theme, such as coffee, for example, and giving that gift to several people to save both time and money. There was one year that I gave several family members cashmere socks made of recycled cashmere sweaters. Each pair of socks had a simple, but beautiful, red bow tied around them. Several of my family members still comment on how those socks were one of their favorite gifts. Nobody minded that their gift was not unique only to them. You can simplify gift buying and often save time and money by purchasing several of the same gift.

Once you have selected the perfect gift, consider all the options in wrapping. It isnt necessary to wrap your gifts in many layers of tissue, boxes, paper, and bows. Instead, try using on of these creative options:

Wrap gifts in Childrens Art Work, Old Maps or Newspaper
Embellish gifts with Pinecones, Dried flowers, Buttons or Beads
Use the gift as the wrapping such as Cookies in a Jar

Also, consider not wrapping as another option. Author Sister Jose Hobday describes in her book Simple Living, a Native American tradition of giving unwrapped gifts. Wrapped gifts are shrouded in secrecy, while unwrapped gifts provide a flesh-to-flesh connection and a sense of unity between giver and receiver according to Native American tradition.

Remember the 3 Rs in whatever you choose to give this year: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. It is more important how much thought, creativity, and love you put into your gifts than how much you spent or how much wrapping you use. They do say, good things come in small packages. Lets add to that, with less packaging.

- By : Heidi DeCoux -