Our New Eco-Sizing allows for more prints per page. Saving paper and saving money.
Who would have ever thought that we would experience a paper shortage? As with the litany of other problems facing us today, this is a result of the business shutdowns. The paper industry was consolidating well before the pandemic. The demand for paper was in slight decline due to so many things going digital. And some businesses have chosen to go "paperless" to align with their sustainaiblity goals. Of course the need for paper and printing has still steady. The great prediciton of printing and paper disappearing has rang hollow for 30 years now. Things will always need to be printed and paper will always be needed.
Then the pandemic hits. Demand for paper plummeted. With so many people "working" from home, there was less paper needed at the office. On the flip side, demand for card board boxes exploded. Over the course of 2020, many paper mills converted to make card board boxes instead. This continued into 2021. Now add in the truck driver shortage and general worker shortage – no one to transport the paper or load it/unload it. Like so many other things, a great deal of paper comes from overseas. So with over 40% of incoming container ships waiting to port in the USA, expect less paper. Plus the mills that are operating are expereincing rising input costs like the rest of us. Inflation is forcing them to raise their prices. Container costs are up, lumber costs are high.
I could go on about more of the whys and wherefores, but the bottom line is there is a paper shortage and it wouldn't get better anytime soon. Paper is in short supply and the cost of it is rising. SO what to do?
My team and I came up with a strikingly simple solution – We challenged the assumptions of the standard sizes for printed materials. These sizes have been in place well into the early 20th century. Does a brochure really need to be 8.5 x 11? Does a business card really need to be 3.5" x 2"
Most printing utilizes 11x17, 12x18 or 13x19 paper. There was nothing we could do to change that, so we focused on new "standard" sizes for commonly printed pieces.
Here's how it works: Normally to print 1000 brochures, you would need 500 11x17 pieces of paper. The brochure fits "2-up" So each piece of paper yields two brochures. Thats just the way its been.
We have a new size for we we call a pocket brochure. Its still a trifold, but its 5.65" x 11". So now, if you need 1000 brochures, we can do them 3-up, so each piece of paper yields three brochures. So now only 333 sheets of paper are needed... a savings of 127 sheets of paper! This also equates to savings of about $85 on the print job!
Our renegade solution works for nearly all types of printed materials. We've reinvented sizing for fliers, handbills, fliers, rack cards, business cards and more. While other printers are fixated on the old way, we're leading the way in conserving paper, reducing printing costs and designing effective printed materials. We also carry many eco-friendly paper. Some are 100% recycled, some are made with Wind Power and others are super sustainable.
Contact us today to get started on your next eco-friendly, eco-sized printing project!