My favorite way of using elephant poo paper must be in the printer! I love to draw on my tablet with ProCreate (you can read my blogpost on favorite sustainable art supplies here) en love the effect of printing them on elephant poo paper has! But to print sustainable, is that possible? And what can you do to print sustainable? 6 tips in this blog!
Use often
When you use and Inkjet printer you’ll use cartridges to replace ink when you run out. Did you know this ink can dry out? If the ink doesn’t “move” for a while it can dry up. It’s such a waste to have to trash half full cartridges that just simply dried up! It might seem contradictory to print unnecessary, but printing a small image with multiple colors at least once a week will prevent your ink from drying up. Unless you already print a lot yourself of course!
Bigger cartridges (or not)
Do you print a lot? You should order XL cartridges! They are the same size as regular cartridges so still fit in your printer, but they can have up to twice as much ink as regular cartridges. So they’ll last a lot longer but there’s less packaging! Do you not print often? In that case its most sustainable to nót order XL cartridges, in this way you prevent ink from drying up (see previous point).
Recycle your cartridges
Did you know you can recycle your cartridges? Depending on where you live you can bring your cartridges to a recycle bin. Some cartridges are even worth money! Simply Google for “cartridge recycle” and find a local company that will pay you for your cartridges!
Sustainable paper
Ofcourse you could expect this point from us! But the paper you choose has loads of impact! Did you know 15 billion trees are cut down for the paper industry every year? And more and more paper is needed every year, since paper packaging is become the standard. Luckily paper can be recycled. So it’s important to choose a recycled paper ánd recycle paper yourself too. Elephant poo paper is 100% waste material! 30% elephant poo and 70% recycled paper like newspapers, so that’s sustainable for sure!
Do not laminate
Makes sense right? However especially in company environments printed stuff that needs to be preserved for longer than a day often will be laminated. My tip? Print stuff that needs to be preserved on stronger paper, like 250gms paper. In this way it should last longer without needing asking plastic!
Laserjet or Inkjet?
You can print with a Laserjet printer as well. The sustainable advantage of this is that the ink cannot dry up and the machine is often higher quality, so it should last longer. If you plan to print colors and images, the quality of a Laserjet might disappoint. An Inkjet printer can usually also handle more types of paper. Keep that in mind when you’re going to purchase a printer.
I hope these tips will help you make print sustainable!
