Progress Report - Report

This morning we emailed out our latest Progress Report E-newsletter. Already, more than 25% of the 2,957 recipients have opened the email. This number should grow to about 40% in the next two days. What a great opportunity to call or email the contacts that opened this email.

A comment from one of Marshall’s customers:

“Just thought I would pass along that this piece is pretty neat. I was able to read it quickly and easily.  Good job at promoting the company and your services. Everyone likes “stories” because people can relate or garner ideas from it.

I learned something too about the “going green”.  When I was at corporate going green is something they’re looking at so now I know for next time.”

So this is a great time during mid-summer doldrums to check in. 

We’ll provide you a list of your contacts who opened (and who didn’t open) the e-newsletter.

If you would like to send the enewsletter to someone who may not be on the list, email them this link:

http://www.progprint.com/enewsletters/prog-report-july-08/index.html

Let us know if you have any more questions!

Next month we send out a new Mailing Matters…standby for a content summary for that piece.

Thanks,

Andy

Progress Printing - Certified Green

A groundswell of environmental consciousness is sweeping the globe. Countless companies and individuals are making active strides to protect the planet. Progress Printing is a veteran in the movement toward greater social responsibility. We were homegrown “green” long before being green was golden.

“Progress Printing has always operated in an environmentally friendly manner,” says Phillip Pryor, purchasing manager. “We’ve recycled our scrap paper, plates, boxes, and skids for over 25 years. Progress was one of the country’ s first printers to go all-digital (film-less) to eliminate chemicals and the use of silver in the printing process.”

“Our Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) designation is further proof of our commitment to preserving our environment and operating in an ethical and responsible way,” he adds.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
Progress Printing is a FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) vendor, certified by SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest Alliance. The FSC is a global non-profit devoted to encouraging the responsible use of the world’s wood resources by promoting responsible forest management. The body focuses on sustainable yield timber management, reducing soil erosion during harvest, preventing water pollution, and taking wildlife habitat into consideration by proper harvest management planning.

“The FSC is possibly the most stringent organization when it comes to their certification and use of logos, but it’s also the most recognized forest stewardship authority around the world,” according to Sabine Lenz, founder of Paper Specs in Printing Impressions magazine. “With 1,800 recycled papers and 600 FSC-certified papers to choose from-and more added every day-clients don’t have to be afraid that they’ll be constrained in their options, and they’ll feel good about making a smart choice for their project and for the planet.”

PRESERVE, PROTECT, REUSE, RECYCLE
We’re always pursuing creative ways to preserve, protect, reuse and recycle. We recycle at least 12 million lbs. of paper waste a year. More than 95% of our waste stream is recycled. Thousands of printing plates are recycled each year. We print alcohol-free, recycle used ink, recover solvents, and our air emissions are virtually clean. Progress Printing always welcomes suggestions from our customers to achieve greener ways to print!

 

Customer Stories in Green Printing

BILTMORE HOUSE
America’s largest home—Biltmore—has a historic legacy that makes using FSC paper a natural choice. 

The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the creator of New York’s Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America’s first managed forest. 

What’s more, Biltmore had a role in the birthplace of forest conservation in America. The “Cradle of Forestry” in America is the site of the first forestry school in America–the Biltmore Forest School, founded in 1898 by Dr. Carl Schenck, chief forester for George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate. 

“Biltmore Estate and the family are really committed to recycling and green initiatives,” says Christy Cowan, creative services production manager. “Green is the way to go and we’re making a big push for recycled and a low carbon footprint. Since Biltmore if the home of the Cradle of Forestry in this area (nearby Brevard), FSC paper is a very attractive option.” 

The company is printing 925,000 24-page house guide booklets for its estimated one million annual visitors from all over the world. “It’s a wonderful thing that Progress Printing is now FSC certified to help us show our commitment to keeping the planet healthy.” 

THE MARTIN AGENCY | UPS
UPS has a long history of environmental practices. That’s why UPS tasked the like-minded Martin Agency in Richmond, VA to find both a green printer and a high-quality recycled paper for a recent B2B self-mailer. 

The Martin Agency actively pursues green efforts on behalf of clients, notes Debbie Andrews, senior VP of print production. “In addition to being environmentally proactive, they also wanted a high quality product.” 

McCoy was the ideal candidate based on previous results, Andrews says. To choose from a large stable of vendors, Progress Printing’s status of a FSC-certified printer was “another added plus to pull you through the bid process.” 

“We’ve had good success with printing and imaging with McCoy,” Andrews adds. “High quality, good printability, limited cracking and environmentally friendly—we were trying to balance all that for UPS.” 

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE RIVER SPECIALISTS
“I can tell you that Progress Printing made the transition to FSC paper so simple that we made it a requirement across the board for all of our print jobs,” declares Steve Markle, marketing director for the California-based O.A.R.S. 

O.A.R.S. has a long history of conservation using recycled content in their array of print collateral. “In an increasingly competitive and sensitive market, it is important for us to have a stamp of approval that is recognized nationally,” Markle says. “Our customers are sensitive to our impact on the environment and we want to make sure they know we are doing this wisely.” 

The outdoor company now uses FSC-approved stock for a variety of mailers and catalogs. Progress Printing made it “extremely easy to incorporate it as a standard.” 

MUSIC TODAY | DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
The Dave Matthews Band—known for its progressive views and causes—was an ideal candidate for Mohawk Options 100% post consumer waste recycled paper for the famed group’s annual calendar. The 10,000 calendars were distributed across the globe. 

“We’re trying to go 100% green for The Dave Matthews Band and take all of their packaging to the next level [of green] to reflect what they’re trying to do for the environment,” says Crystal Bates, director of CD replication for Crozet, VA-based Music Today, an entertainment e-commerce company for some of the world’s largest musical, sports and entertainment brands. When it comes to green printing, “we definitely look for that availability,” she adds, noting she was pleased long-time supplier Progress Printing had become FSC-certified. 

THE DARDEN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The venerable Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia has high-powered alumni and the desire to take action on sustainability. The 80-age biannual Alumni Magazine was an visible forum to demonstrate conscious concern. 

“We’re focused on sustainability and on being environmentally and socially responsible,” says Susan Wormington, Darden’s director of publications. “It’s a subtle, visible way to convey to our alumni that we’re doing what we can to help the environment.” 

She found it “very easy” to specify a FSC stock with Progress Printing, especially since there are so many choices. Progress was able to provide a mixed stock under FSC certification the school had comfortably used before. 

HAFELE AMERICA
When the leadership of Hafele America decided to go greener, Laurie Hall listened. The 496-page catalog on FSC Opus cover recently produced by Progress Printing for the Archdale, NC furniture hardware company will “help us look good to our customers and do something for the environment,” says Hall. 

“Our president suggested we look into all that we can do for the environment,” says Hall, who has worked with Progress Printing for six years. “A lot of our customers have the same environmental concerns.” 

Printing with FSC web stock required more lead time for the mill to custom manufacture it, but Hall is pleased to be using it for the massive catalog. Hafele is also using a recycled sheet for its company newsletter. 

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Printing responsibly used to more challenging years ago when Lyda Adams Carpen went hunting for the environmentally friendly stock for the tri-annual UNCG Alumni Magazine. There weren’t that many options available back in the day. 

About four years ago the school discovered recycled paper broker New Leaf that contracts with paper mills to make paper according to their strict specifications, says Carpen, director of creative services. 

Progress Printing won the state bid for the magazine and worked closely with New Leaf to acquire FSC New Leaf EcoMatt cover and New Leaf Reincarnation Matte text. 

“We’re really excited that Progress Printing is FSC now. We have been very familiar with you over the years and FSC was the icing,” says Carpen. “Progress has done a really good job working with New Leaf and everybody concerned.”

A New Green World For Printers

When Progress Printing realized it had printed more than 1 billion impressions on its web presses over the past several years—enough paper to string back and forth to the moon several times—a wry observer strolling through the web roll warehouse remarked: “That’s a lot of trees.” 

In fact, the advertising, publishing, printing and packaging are among the larger industrial users of energy in the world. In the U.S. they are also heavily dependent on imported petrochemicals and paper, which results in the output of vast quantities—literally tons and tons—of waste paper. And they emit tens of millions of tons of greenhouse gases annually, says Don Carli, sustainability editor for Graphic Arts Online. 

“The intensifying calls for protecting the planet’s ecology prompt a key question for printers: What is green print?” asks Lisa Cross, senior of Graphic Arts Monthly. “As companies of all sizes are pressured to manufacture in an environmentally friendly fashion, printers must follow suit. And they must have ready answers for clients seeking green credentials.” 

Phil Pryor, the purchasing manager at Progress Printing who has been the driving force behind the company’s certification by the Forest Stewardship Council, looks at it this way: 

“We really do feel better about ourselves when we are buying wood or paper that is made from responsible wood harvesting,” Pryor says. “Our employees feel the pride when we put the FSC logo on jobs we’re printing. We know we’ve done something that will impact the environment for future generations.” 

Some call all-the-rage in green advertising and printing the “new green.” 

“The new green is not based on moral or ethical imperatives, or on purely emotional appeals. It is based on a conceptual framework called ‘sustainability’ that is being used to redefine the way business is done,” explains Don Carli of Graphic Arts Online. “Increasingly it will change the nature of demand for printing services, printing equipment and supplies. 

“While historically being ‘green’ referred to environmental regulatory compliance, the new green goes beyond compliance,” adds Carli. “Sustainability, in print or any field, seeks to continually improve the environmental, social and economic performance of a business, a product or a service. 

Carli, who is also a senior research fellow for the non-profit Institute for Sustainable Communication, sees evidence of change in the so-called “LOHAS” consumer trends. 

An estimated 63 million adults in North America are considered “LOHAS” Consumers. LOHAS, for “Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability,” describes a $226.8 billion U.S. marketplace for goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living.. 

For example, Carlin notes that “Wal-Mart was able to identify sustainability as a ‘game changing’ business growth strategy by the overwhelming response it has received from consumers for organic goods and concerns by its workers for Katrina victims.” 

As the big presses turn and churn, Progress Printing customers can rest assured that they are working with a company with its roots in a quarter-century of sustainable practices and committed to wise environmental stewardship for the future.  

A Little Greenery Added To Our Website

If customers ask, we now have our FSC Certification and Green Printing information added to our website. You may direct customers to our homepage (www.progressprinting.net) and tell them to click on the big green button titled, “Green Printing”. 

View the new info now >