Sustainable Printing

I have been on a quest to figure out what the best option is for eco-friendly binding options.  Unfortunately, I have not had much luck in finding hard-proof evidence of anything.  It’s as if no one has thought about this before!  So, I preface this post by saying I may be completely off-base with some of the following rationalizations, but here are my 2 cents.

When you have printed projects such as manuals, hand books, work books, reports or even sales or marketing collateral, I would say 99% of the time, you need a way to keep all the pages together in a permanent or semi-permanent fashion.  Some options include stapling (one in the corner, two along the left edge or saddle-stitching as a booklet), binding such as coil (spiral), comb or wire-o or using a 3-ring binder.  Now the number of sheets of paper will have a dramatic impact on which binding option will work.  For example, spiral binding 6 sheets of paper looks a bit silly, but 50 sheets just stapled in the upper left corner will look unprofessional (in my opinion).  So what about the sustainability of each of these binding types?  Here’s what I think.

•  Coil binding - To my knowledge, all of the spines for this option are made from PVC plastic.   While this bind is a “step up” from it’s predecessor (the comb bind), the recyclability of the PVC spine is debatable.  My day-job company works with a waste-disposal company that accepts these for recycling, but most individuals may be hard-pressed to recycle these at recycling stations.  Not only that, but the way the pages are bound along the continuous loop makes them hard to remove.  I would hope that someone would take the time to cut the spine from the pages and recycle the sheets, but since it’s not an easy process, I fear many would simply chuck the whole thing in the trash.

• Comb binding - With this option, the spine is still made from PVC plastic, but since the teeth open and close easily (with the help of a special binding device), it’s much easier to take out the pages and reuse the spines.  Sometimes I’ve seen clients reuse last year’s version of a manual where only the covers or a few internal pages are changed.  Not only can we reuse the spine of this version, but it saved resources, paper and cost by not having to reprint the entire manual.  Quite a sustainable option if you ask me, but this binding is not used often anymore due to the pages sometimes slipping off the teeth and coming loose.  If whatever you are binding is going to be handled and flipped through excessively, comb binding may not be a durable enough option.

• Wire binding - Since the spines for this method of binding are made from steel, one would hope they could be recycled.  However, many times these spines are colored with a nylon coating that would make it difficult, if not impossible to recycle.  This binding option doesn’t allow for easy removal of pages either, so it would be more of an effort to recycle the prints.  However, this is quite a professional looking bind, so try to go with an uncoated wire if you plan to go with this method.

• Staples - If your document is only a few sheets, stapling is a cost-effective and recycle-friendly option.  Most recycling facilities accept paper with staples since magnets are used in the process to remove metal bits from the pulp.

• 3 ring binders - Naturally this is a great option since binders can be used again and again.  It allows for easy removal/insertion of pages, and binders offer your documents much more protection and durability than the other options I mentioned.  I will say, the plastic vinyl binders are not environmentally-friendly, so I strongly recommend the Rebinders from Sustainable Group.

So in the end, no matter what binding option you choose for your project, I would encourage you to find a way to at least recycle the sheets of paper.  It will be easier in some cases than others, and if you are entrusting your printed materials in the hands of employees, customers or other “end-use” people, there’s no guarantee they will put forth effort to recycle anyway.  A simple sentence on the title page of your document such as “Please recycle after use” could at least put the thought in the readers’ minds.

So what do you think?  Was I way off-base on anything?

Photo Credits - Coil binding from Flickr user Terwilliger911 & wire binding, also from Flickr; click on the image to be taken to the download site.

Related Post - More Eco Friendly Binding Options

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