For most people, it might surprising to learn that paper and printing industry ranks fourth amongst the top energy consuming industries in the world. Printers not only demand electricity but also a lot of fossil fuels. However, it won't be long for printing industries to breakdown since our natural resources are getting depleted at an alarming rate. If we do not put a check on its consumption now, we would never be able to work out a way ever.

The time is now ripe for printers to go green and adopt ways to cut down the consumption of natural resources as much as possible. To begin with, computerizing pre-press operations helps eliminate photochemicals and saves water and energy. Besides, printing companies can adopt the following ways to go green:

a) Setting up a solvent recycling program to save resources and check air pollution.
b) Use alcohol-free printing to improve air quality, worker health and safety, and to reduce chemical use.
c) Printing on treeless and recycled papers to save trees, energy, and water. This also helps to boost agricultural development and keep paper away from the landfills.
d) Educating customers on green printing.
e) Using low VOC inks to minimize air pollution and enhance employee safety.
f) Establishing inventory control to reduce landfill and save money.
g) Encouraging paperless communication to cut cost and save use of paper. This also saves time, postage, or fax costs.
h) Using energy-efficient equipment to save energy and money.

These simple steps can not only help saving our precious natural resources but also make our environment a much safer habitat to live in. Green printing is a boon which every printing company should aspire to achieve.