Vivid Image, Inc.
9 W. Chestnut Ridge
Asheville, NC 28804

828.254.1996
Fax: 828.254.1952

What & why this “Green Talk”?

Reasonable steps can be taken with very little costs and without discomforting our lives to where we feel cheated, uncomfortable, or deprived.

• We offer Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper which contains fiber from well-managed and responsibly harvested forests that meet strict environmental standards.
• We offer paper that was manufactured with 100 percent recycled content.
• We offer Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) paper in which no chlorine or chlorine derivatives were used to whiten the paper. This is manufactured from virgin fiber, but keeps chlorine out of the environment. Chlorine bleaching of paper is alleged to be the worst source of water pollution. Virgin fiber is made from new wood that has not been recycled.
• We offer Elementally Chlorine Free (ECF) paper in which no chlorine was used, but some substances containing chlorine were used.
• We offer Process Chlorine Free (PCF) paper also known as Secondarily Chlorine Free (SCF) paper. This paper is made from recycled paper that has been processed with an oxygen-based whitening system. No bleach or bleach derivatives are used in its manufacture.

Paper choice is critical. Today, the use of and varieties of recycled paper have gone up as the prices have dropped. The impact of commercial use is in demand as companies look after their investments by addressing environmental, public image and shareholder concerns. Major corporate entities have taken steps to improve their image by using recycled paper. Recycled paper reduces the number of trees harvested, reduces waste, and saves both water use and electricity.

Ink

• We use biodegradable soy-based inks. Soy, as a plant, does not require irrigation, transforms carbon dioxide into oxygen and reduces greenhouse gasses. Unlike the traditional petroleum-based inks, that have been the standard in the printing industry, soy-based inks do not emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which produce harmful gasses that pollute the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency warns that common human reactions to VOCs include eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, nausea, and damage to the liver kidneys and nervous system.
• We offer digital printing which is faster on short run jobs and produces less waste at a lessor cost. This application is particularly practical for projects which require smaller quantities of printed materials with a timely turnaround.

Printing

• We preserve the environment with our well maintained, chemical-free computer-to-plate technology, eschewing the use of toxic processing chemicals.
• We reduce VOCs by up to 90 percent by with vegetable-based and water-based materials which are free from VOC-producing petroleum products.
• We minimize paper usage by utilizing high technology efficient equipment and using e-mail for files and other communications.
• We manage inventory to reduce waste.
• We use no films requiring developing chemicals.

Recycling

• We recycle 100 percent of our waste paper from test printing, proof prints, overprinting, and scraps from trimming thin edges off multiple page projects.
• We recycle wood products, such as pallets.
• We use recycled cotton cloth to clean our presses instead of paper supplies from trees.
• We recycle metal, such as aluminum printing components.

Facts

“One ton of virgin uncoated paper -- which accounts for 90 percent of the paper used in the United States -- consumes three tons of wood, more than 19,075 gallons of water and generates 2,278 pounds of solid waste.”
- Environmental Defense, an advocacy group

“The United States is the biggest paper consumer, accounting for 33 percent of all printed material. U.S. paper producers alone consume one billion trees -- or 12,430 square miles of forests (an area almost the size of the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined) -- every year, while producing 735 pounds of paper for every American. Only five percent of America's virgin forests now remain, while 70 percent of the fiber consumed by the pulp and paper industry continues to be generated from virgin wood. Besides consuming trees and habitat, processing paper generates tons of industrial pollutants. The pulp and paper industry is the third-largest industrial polluter in both Canada and the U.S., releasing more than 220 million pounds of toxic pollution -- including dioxin, a cancer-causing byproduct of the chlorine-bleaching process -- into the air, ground and water each year. Paper is also the dominant material in solid waste. And in the U.S., paper-producing companies are the third-largest energy consumer.”
– From the Editors of “EarthTalk” an environmental e-magazine

Deforestation accounts for 7.32 billion tons of CO2 equivalent being released into the atmosphere each year. According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation, that’s almost five times the amount of carbon released by all of America’s vehicles in a whole year (1.2 billion vehicles).
- Rare, a U.S.-based conservation organization.

Additional resources

Environmental Protection Agency; features “Green Scene”, “Greenversations” a blog, information on how you can help the environment and related links: www.epa.gov

Green-e certification; identifies products and services made with renewable energy that don’t pollute, such as wind, solar, biomass and hydrogen fuel:
www.green-e.org

Green Seal certification; promote your environmentally friendly product or service and find certified products and services:
www.greenseal.org

Forest Stewardship Council; non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests:
www.fscus.org

www.TreeRecycle.Com; Find out how to dispose of unwanted trees.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative; offers an approach to forest management based on the premise that responsible environmental behavior and sound business decisions can co-exist: www.sfiprogram.org

Doesn’t this seem reasonable for your future, your children, and our planet?