People are increasingly getting environmentally conscious these days. Whether it is because of Al Gore, or it is a genuine and fortunate trend in our society we may never know. But the important thing is that the movement is there, and we should keep fostering it so that our children can benefit from a safer tomorrow.

This applies to all industries including and most especially publishing since it uses up a vital resource, paper from trees. If you have invested in published marketing materials like catalog printing then you should be aware of the impact it has on the environment. Luckily though some "green minded" printing companies have given people an option to make their published materials eco-friendly. So now, it is possible to use eco-friendly materials for catalog printing and other published works.

Do you know your options to make your catalog printing "greener"? There are a couple of ways to do this. Most of it involves the use of various types of recycled paper and organic inks. All of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. So you have to determine what is best for you when it comes to green catalog printing.

Recycled paper

The First and most obvious option to go "green" in your color catalogs is to print them in recycled paper. There are actually several options to this, but your main choice is to print in 100% recycled paper all made from post-consumer material. There are a few disadvantages to this, and you should immediately see this by the color and texture of the recycled material.

If you want to improve the paper's quality a bit you have the option to use paper that has less percentages of recycled material. There are color catalogs out there that are printed in recycled paper using 30% post consumer material. It may be lighter and have better qualities, but it is not fully recycled.

Some green printing companies also offer alternative paper that is better for the environment. For example, some companies source their paper from "sustainable forests" where the trees are fast growing and are quickly replenished. With paper for these kinds of trees, you will be less guilty since they are not from wild forests, and they are quickly replaced. So you won't be cutting down on Earth's tree cover.

Organic and not-toxic Inks

Lastly, you can also have your catalogs printed in organic or non-toxic inks. The ink in some published material can seep into our environment and sometimes have adverse effects on it. Catalog printing companies can give you an option to print your catalogs in organic or non-toxic inks based on plants. Once the catalogs degrade or get thrown away, the ink won't be a bother to the environment.

So, if you are environmentally conscious about your catalog printing, these are the various options at your disposal to make "green catalogs". Sometimes this may cost more or less depending on the printing company. However, why would you put a price for our future right? Let us go green all the way. So go ahead and use these green catalog printing options.