As great as green printing may sound, what benefit does it actually hold for companies and individuals? Are these benefits enough to entice them to practice green printing?
The concept of green printing has been around for a number of years now, and while an increasing number of companies are embracing the practice, there still exist a number of myths and misconceptions about it.
One misconception about green printing is that recycled or PCW paper is not as good in quality as virgin paper, nor is it as durable. That is certainly not true. Not all recycled or PCW paper products are brown in color. There are types of processes that can make them appear as white and as durable as virgin paper (Cook 2005).
Another myth held by the majority of the public is that the usage of recycled or PCW will not yield high-quality printouts, unlike those made with virgin paper. Again, this is not true. A printout made with recycled or PCW paper can be virtually indistinguishable from a printout using virgin paper.
A third myth about green printing is that it is more expensive than regular printing. While it is true that green printing can sometimes cost more, the reason for this merely has to do with supply and demand (Cook 2005). Presently, the demand for recycled and PCW paper is not as high as the demand for virgin paper is. When the demand for recycled and PCW paper becomes higher than virgin paper, a lowering in costs can be seen, because producing recycled and PCW paper costs less and consumes less energy.
Moreover, printing companies that are dedicated to green printing take the time to educate their clients about the merits and cost-efficiency of green printing. They even go so far as to suggest how to decrease the cost of the printing jobs commissioned from them.
Besides being environmentally conscious, going green can help to reduce printing costs. It should be noted; however, that green printing is not just about the paper being used but also how the paper and the equipment for printing on paper are used.
A common practice in green printing is reducing the margins and spaces on printed documents, as well as compressing or eliminating filler pages like title pages or the table of contents. Using both sides of the paper is also desirable in green printing. In doing so, less paper is consumed, and thus, a decrease in the cost of maintaining a paper supply is seen.
Makower asserted that the best practice in green printing is no printing. Digitalization, the creation of portable document files (PDFs), and paperless communication through emails and instant messaging are still the most environmentally-sustainable and cost-effective practices that people can adopt.