A lot has been said about being good to the earth and going green, especially in the last week. It’s nice, however, to work for a company that actually puts its money where its mouth is. 

I’ve posted on PFL’s green practices in the past and linked to a page on our website explaining what we do on a daily basis. After doing some checking around with our competition, however, I realized that printers that force you into buying at specific amounts espouse savings, but aren’t really doing you any favors when it comes to greening up your business. 

If you have a mailing list with 2047 names on it wouldn’t you like to order and pay for 2047 postcards? Instead, many printers will force you up to the next price break level, say to 2500 or 5000. Aside from making you pay for paper and ink you don’t need, they’re doing what’s easy for them and in many cases will charge you more if you want a specific amount. 

Think about the ramifications of forced quantities… The printer has to use more electricity to print, cut, and package your project. They have to use more paper than needed. They use more packaging and the shipper has to burn more fuel than needed. And, in the end, you’re going to have to recycle or toss the overs. 

 It’s not easy being green (thank you, Kermit!). It takes work. It wouldn’t take printers much to improve their carbon footprint, and in turn help yours, with just a little forethought and investment in better systems. Forcing customers to purchase at specific quantities is a sign of laziness on the part of the printer. Or, it’s a sign of a company who can’t see the forest and doesn’t care for the trees.