A case study in printing sustainably

From one piece of artwork Calverts produced these neat little notebooks.

An A2 size abstract pattern was printed in three spot colours on sheets of 320gsm Cairn Natural 100% recycled board left over from a previously printed job – no need to purchase and transport paper.

The imposition – method in which individual pages are placed on a larger printed sheet – was such that up to eight unique cover designs could be achieved from a single artwork (minimising waste on the sheet by keeping to a trimmed size of A6, which is appropriate for an A2 untrimmed sheet). *Designers need to know about imposition, because along with a basic understanding of printing press formats, they can use imposition knowhow to cut both the financial and the environmental costs of paper and print.

The inner pages of the notebook were a selection of recycled papers which had been sitting on the shelf. These were left unprinted and  collated randomly throughout the notebook. The plates used to print the notebook cover were produced on a processless CTP system dispensing with the need for chemical developer and water. The inks used were vegetable oil based and biodegradable. The printing process itself was powered by renewable energy, and by using recycled paper (made from post consumer waste which would otherwise have gone to landfill) 137kg of carbon was saved.

Get creative + print sustainably. Contact Calverts on 020 7739 1474 or email: info(at)calverts.coop