We use non-toxic, plant-derived dry-toner inks. Because the toner goes on dry, we don't need to employ the large, energy intensive, drying machines used by our competitors who run inkjet presses. In fact, our toner-based technology is so non-toxic that it's technically edible.
Our paper stocks are acid-free, FSC and SFI certified.
FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council. This is a non-profit organization that provides a third-party certification service to the paper industry to “promote management of the world’s forests.” It ensures that your paper is coming from sustainably harvested forests, meaning that it comes from a renewable source. According to the FSC website, “plantations must contribute to reduce the pressures on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.” How does it do this? The Forest Stewardship Council has developed a Chain of Custody process — effectively, an inventory management system — that enables you to trace your paper stock back to the tree it was harvested from, thereby ensuring it came from a sustainably managed forest.
If the manufacturer is FSC-certified as an organization, that gives them the right to placed the FSC logo on products it manufactures. Alternatively, if the manufacturer is not FSC-certified but simply sources FSC-certified paper stock, your sustainably harvested paper is still exactly that but cannot have the FSC-certified logo printed on it. Both are viable and “good” options.
SFI stands for Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and it is also an independent auditor of good forestry practices. It is simply an alternative to FSC-certification and is just as good an indicator of sustainably harvested paper stock.
In addition, we only use HP Indigo and Xeikon printing presses in our print shop. Our printing presses produce such a small amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that we are under the "small generator class", meaning we create less than 220lbs of VOCs per month. We did not need to file for VOC permits for our Xeikon presses.
These presses also draw significantly less kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage than inkjet presses because the bulk of inkjet press kWh usage is tied to drying the ink. Cleaning of the presses is handled with a water-base, which means no harsh chemical usage in machine maintenance.