Paper: The Renewable Resource at The Heart of the Print Industry

Paper and card are at the heart of the print industry and we thought we should celebrate that wonderful versatile medium which carries the ink.

In Europe, paper is produced from the pulp of fast growing trees. Cultivating this crop has multiple benefits for the environment and the thousands of hectares of woodland required for the paper industry even acts as a carbon sink. The raw material of paper – wood fibre – is a renewable, natural and sustainable resource

Between 2005 and 2020, European forests grew by an area the size of Switzerland, thanks in large part to the managed forests of the paper production industry. Paper ensures the viability of healthy growing forests that play an indispensable role in climate and biodiversity protection.

A number of certification schemes exist to ensure forests are sustainably managed and these allow paper purchasers (such as ourselves) to trace the chain of paper production all the way back to the sustainable forest where the raw material was grown.

European statistics for paper recycling reveal that around 80% of paper and cardboard packaging will be recycled. But paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. (Without getting too technical: if you only ever recycle paper that has been recycled before, eventually the fibres get too worn out to be useful in creating a new sheet of paper.) The cycle must therefore be constantly refilled with new strong virgin fibres from sustainably managed forests.

Statistics reproduced here have come from the paper myth-busting articles on https://twosides.info/myths-and-facts where you can find sources for all the facts we’ve shared.

Paper at Colour Print

As they are for all aspects of your print project, our print experts are available to help you choose the best paper for your project. We can advise on the size, weight and feel of your paper, and we can demonstrate the paper’s provenance - all of our paper can be traced back to sustainable sources.

Recycled Paper

Hopefully, we’ve made the case that virgin paper is an ecologically sound choice, but recycled paper can also be an attractive option - especially for brands that really want to push their eco-credibility. These are the types of recycled paper offered by Colour Print:

• Mill Broke. This type of recycled paper is made from unused paper trimmings from the paper mill, making it a highly sustainable option.
• Pre-Consumer. Pre-consumer recycled paper comes from printed but undistributed newspapers and journals that have been de-inked.
• Post-Consumer. Post-consumer recycled paper is paper that has been printed, distributed, used, and then sustainably discarded at a recycling bank.
• Kraft Paper. Kraft paper is a versatile recycled paper or board with a natural, organic feel.

Carbon balancing

One extra service we can include is a carbon balancing of your print project. We partner with The Woodland Trust who plant native deciduous trees right here in the UK. For a small fee per tonne of paper, planting trees can offset the carbon footprint of your paper and printing services.

Whatever paper or card you require for your next print project, Colour Print can obtain it from sustainable sources as well as provide all the design, print, print finish and fulfilment services you require. Call us on 01603 488001 or email sales@col-print.co.uk