Printing on ecological paper

Ecological paper - the raw material

When we talk about ecological printing, the word paper comes straight to our mind, being the raw material used for any kind of printing. Paper does play an essential role. That’s the reason why we would like to talk about the features which differ ordinary paper from the so called ‘ecological’ paper.

RAW MATERIALS

A distintive element of paper concerns the raw material used for mixing the fibres. We can find paper which is produced only with pulp or mixed with post-consumer paper or post-industrial paper waste.
In the last years, the attention has moved also to the fibres used, the origin of the trees and to the way pulp is produced.

COATED PAPER

This is undoubtedly the most used paper in typography. Thanks to the mineral pigment coating which is applied with, more or less, natural binders, the surface of the paper is bright and smooth, ideal for colour printing; it shows an excellent colour uniformity.

UNCOATED PAPER

This type of paper can be also made eco-sustainably. We can find paper whose fibres come from annual plants, such as bamboo, cotton and bagasse.

There are types of paper which are made with industrial waste of kiwi, beer and many other types of edible products.

There are fine and elegant papers which are more eco-sustainable than others which look rougher. We offer types of paper which come from a deep analysis of their toxicological chart.

FSC® CERTIFIED PAPER

The FSC Certification, Forest Stewardship Council, is the main system which guarantees the origin of the wood and its derivate products, such as paper. First, a check on the forest is made, then on the pulp producers, on the paper, on the distributors and eventually, on the typography. The certified paper derives from responsible forestry, in compliance with social, environmental and economical standards.

FSC was born in 1993 and includes evironmental NGOs, social groups, native peoples, consumer associations, forest owners, technicians, forest certificate organizations, and timber industries. They all work together to promote better forest management.

Thanks to the Chain of Custody Certification we know that the printing paper truly comes from FSC forests. Without this certification, we couldn’t be ensured that.

RECYCLED PAPER

When using recycled paper, it is essential to know which certifications are applied on the paper. It is important to verify they are chlorine free (PCF: processed Chlorine Free). There are pro-nature recycling processes, but unfortunately, there are also processes which damage nature!

As far as FSC certified paper is concerned, the supervision is not done on the pulp from responsible forestry, but on the raw material:
FSC recycled paper is produced with paper coming from the city paper collection and then marked as ‘RECYCLED’.