What should designers do to make a print job greener?

Many of the choices that affect a print job's footprint are made at the design stage, before the job reaches the press. These steps help:

• Use standard sizes that fit the press sheet well, so less paper is trimmed off and thrown away.
• Limit bleeds where the design allows, since a bleed needs a larger sheet and more trimming.
• Avoid plastic laminates and full ink floods, which make the paper harder to recycle and use more ink.
• Order a run size that matches how many pieces will be used.
• Specify 100% post-consumer recycled stock in the job specs.
• Add the recycled emblem to the piece so readers know what it is printed on.

There is more detail in our article on sustainable graphic design.