Going Green with Letterhead

Going green, or being an eco-friendly business, takes a concerted effort. You have to pay attention to how your marketing materials are produced and how you can take advantage of eco-friendly opportunities and still remain competitive. Businesses use a huge volume of letterhead each year, so this is one of the first areas to focus on when transitioning to a green office space. Read on to learn how you can go green with letterhead.

Print letterhead with soy inks

Soy inks emit far fewer VOCs (volatile organic compounds) than petroleum-based inks do during the drying process, leaving the environment cleaner. These eco-friendly inks last longer and spread farther, too, so it takes less ink to get the desired effect on paper. Even better, soy inks are more vibrant than their petroleum cousins, which results in a letterhead design that has rich depth.

Get an electronic proof

Hardcopy proofs are always a good idea, especially when ordering new letterhead for the first time. Still, electronic proofs have their place when it comes to eco-friendly letterhead printing, especially when you have repeat orders. With electronic proofs, you can save the paper and ink, the postage packaging materials and even the delivery driver's carbon footprint and still be able to double-check your text and letterhead design placement as it will come off the press.

Reuse and recycle

Old letterhead can be reused as in-office memo and scrap paper, and it should always be recycled once it has exceeded its lifetime. If you've printed your letterhead using eco-friendly soy inks, you can include a small logo near the bottom of your letterhead indicating this. In addition, you could add a short line encouraging your letter recipients to recycle the letterhead once they've finished reading it — every little bit helps, and this demonstrates how important going green is your company.

Write short letters

This should go without saying, but if you write concise letters you'll need to use fewer second sheets. Using paper does not contradict eco-friendly business habits as long as it is recycled. Going green can be a challenge, and with so many other responsibilities an eco-friendly effort often comes last. After all, you have to stay in business before your organization can positively influence the environment. Take advantage of effortless ways to go green such as printing your letterhead with soy inks and the other eco-friendly tips in this article, and you can be a good business person and steward to the environment at the same time.