Today we are excited to announce the new Greenerprinter online project planner. Let the project planner show you which turnaround time and shipping method will meet your deadline!

How does it work? Once you upload your design or choose one of the many attractive samples from our Design Center, view your PDF proof and click the Order button, you’ll notice the new project planner calendar under the Item Details & Pricing column to the right (circled in red here).

To get started, click on the small calendar image or green text to access the Greenerprinter Project Planner.

After the calendar appears on-screen (pictured below), select whether you would like to pickup your order at the Greenerprinter office or have it shipped to a destination.

Finally, click your deadline date on the calendar to view the turnaround time and delivery method that will meet your deadline. Turnaround choices can range from economy (seven business days) to rush (three business days).

Let’s take a look at an example. To have your order delivered on or by Friday, July 30, the project planner will alert you that you must:

1. Choose our Economy 7 Business Days Turnaround,
2. Ship via UPS Ground,
3. And approve your proof by 5:00 PM Pacific Time on Monday, July 12

Allowing time to review proofs and for ground shipping (if applicable) are important yet often overlooked aspect of print orders. The next time you use Greenerprinter.com and take advantage of the project planner, you’ll know that you won’t miss a deadline or add extra stress to your day.

The staff here in Berkeley, CA are continually working to improve your experience using Greenerprinter.com. See how this new feature can make your work more sustainable; try it now!

This large format printer can print up to 60″ wide using eco-friendly latex inks from Hewlett-Packard. What are latex inks? They are pigmented, water-based inks designed for commercial printing applications which use an innovative aqueous-dispersed polymer (”latex”) technology.

Latex inks provide print durability and display permanence comparable to eco-solvent inks and low-solvent inks. Plus, their water-based formulation reduces the impact of printing on the environment! Learn more about latex inks by watching a brief video produced by HP.

With our new large format latex printer, we can produce high-quality, durable print media with outdoor display permanence and durability comparable to eco-solvent inks (up to 3 years for un-laminated and up to 5 years for laminated). Your products will be scratch, smudge and water resistance (on water-resistant media).

By and large, the most popular use for the latex printer is greening event signage or trade show graphics. As a business that is committed to reducing your environmental footprint at trade shows and all year round, you’ll be excited to learn that Greenerprinter’s latex printing can be used for windows graphics, posters, digital fine art, vehicle wraps, outdoor event banners, exhibition graphics, wall murals and more.

Take a look at a few examples of these stunning graphics in action by scrolling through the HP Designjet L25500 Application gallery.

What’s more, in addition to reducing the environmental impact of printing through state-of-the-art machinery including the HP latex printer, Greenerprinter also participates in HP’s Large-format Media take-back program. This ensures that eligible HP printing materials are recycled in a way that conserves resources and reduces the environmental impact of printing.

What do you think about the innovative new latex printer? Leave your feedback in the comment box below.

Greenerprinter offers a wide variety of printed products to help make any wedding a green event. Our eco-friendly wedding printing includes announcements, save the date cards, invitations, RSVP cards and thank you cards. You can even create a hardcover photo books – all right from our site!

Do you need a fresh design that expresses the theme of your event? Visit our design center and place your order using one of our templates, ready for your photo or artwork. Choose from a variety of environmental papers, including matte, glossy and 100 percent recycled kraft. Order pricing starts at just $50 for 50 4×6 cards.

The uniqueness of your wedding doesn’t need to stop there. Turn your printed piece into an interactive experience by including a QR Code! QR Code (short for Quick Response Code) is a bar code that can be read by smart phones and other devices with cameras. It’s the revolutionary new way to automatically take someone to your wedding website, add event contact information to an address book or help your guests plot your event using Google Maps.

Whether you are one of the happy couples who recently got engaged, are newlyweds in the market for the perfect eco-friendly thank you cards, or are thinking about creating a hard-bound wedding photo album that reflects your lifestyle, Greenerprinter is delighted to be a trusted partner in your special process.

For more tips on making your wedding eco-friendly, take a quick look at the Greenerprinter Blog, 13 Ways to Green Your Wedding. And warmest wishes on your big day and all your days to come!

But what if you didn’t have to choose between one or the other? Imagine if you could combine print and technology and get the best of both worlds: A printed piece that can reach people offline, with the ability to easily update information online.

Enter QR Codes.

QR codes are “Quick Response” codes that were developed in Japan, have been used extensively there, and are now making their way to the U.S. They work by allowing a user with a smart phone to take a picture of the code, which then directs them to a website with more information.

QR codes can be used on a variety of products:

• Banners: Users can automatically be taken to an event schedule or other relevant web page.
• Business cards: Contact info can automatically be added to a user’s address book.
• Brochures or postcards: Users can automatically get directions to your location via Google Maps.
• Real estate flyers: Users will automatically be taken to an online listing with more details about the property.
• Hang tags or packaging: Users can find out more information about your product.

This is truly a revolutionary way of reaching the growing number of people using smart phones.

The best part about this is that it is easy and inexpensive for you to print QR codes on your next order. Just select the “Add QR code” option to your print specifications on our website and you’ll be able to enter your QR code information in moments. And the best part is that this great technology is also insanely affordable; on most items, it will only cost an extra $5.

Have you used QR codes yet? If so, we’d love to hear your experience with them!

Regardless of how much you use the internet, email, and social media, there are times when a notepad is simply indispensable. It could be used to capture meeting notes, to jot down ideas during a brainstorming session, or to take notes during a conference. If you have provided your clients with custom notepads, your company’s name and logo will be front-and-center as they go about their day.

Another great use for notepads is as a green giveaway at a tradeshow. Unlike many of the other items that are distributed freely at tradeshows, people will actually use a notepad; it is more likely to make it back to the office rather than being recycled or tossed out in the hotel room!

In either case, notepads printed with your company logo and contact information enable you to give current and prospective clients something useful that constantly reminds them about your business. Greenerprinter offers recycled paper notepads printed on 70# Imagination text from New Leaf Paper. This paper is 100% post-consumer waste and is processed chlorine-free, so you can rest assured that you’ve minimized the environmental impact of a useful marketing piece.

What are embossing and foil stamping?

Embossing and foil stamping are both specialty finishing services that can make your printed materials stand out from the rest.

Embossing is a technique that creates a raised, or 3-dimensional, image on a piece of paper.

Foil stamping is a special kind of printing procedure where heat, pressure, and a metallic paper (foil) are used to create different designs and graphics on various materials. Foil stamping gives the stamped design a bright, shiny look.

What are the environmental impacts of embossing and foil stamping?

The Foil & Special Effects Assocation commissioned a study to look at foil stamping and sustainability. The study concluded that foil stamping did not detract from the recyclability of paper products. In an article about the study, Wendy Jedlicka points out that the embossing option is more sustainable because it uses fewer materials – while also providing a tactile quality that can enrich the printed piece.

With embossing and foil stamping, it is also much more cost effective to produce smaller quantities, so you can order only what you need (a minimum of 100 is recommended).

We also recommend using either the 95# Reincarnation or the 20 pt. Kraft paper, both of which are 100% recycled with 50% post-consumer waste.

Fortunately, you can minimize these negative impacts by having a green wedding. The Green Bride Guide has great information for reducing the environmental impact of your wedding. They feature a wealth of resources for planning a green wedding as well as a section on green vendors, such as Greenerprinter, who can provide the products and services that can make your wedding a green one. (Full disclosure: We print business cards for the Green Bride Guide, so we know that they abide by the green tips that they recommend!)

We can help by printing your eco-friendly save-the-date cards, which you can even design online using our templates. Simply upload the photo of your choice, customize your text, and submit your order.  If you’re working with a graphic designer to create a custom card, we can print that for you as well.

Once you’re done with the save-the-date cards, we can print your eco-friendly wedding invitations. Our 80# Everest Cover paper is the most popular for invitations – it’s 100% recycled with 100% post-consumer waste. And after the wedding, preserve your memories forever in a wedding photo book printed on acid-free archival paper. Our free photo book tool lets you create your own photo books in just minutes!

With this in mind, Greenerprinter is pleased to introduce eco-friendly retail packaging. It is available in an 18 pt. Renewal Folding Board (80% post-consumer waste) and a 20 pt. Kraft Board (100% recycled, 50% post-consumer waste, FDA Compliant). If you must have a thicker paper, we can also print on a 24 pt. Carolina C1S (thickest choice, one side is coated); however, since this is not a recycled option, we recommend the 20 pt. Kraft Board. All packaging is printed with soy- and vegetable-based inks and produced according to our lean manufacturing practices. Options include tuck ends, auto-lock bottoms, trays with sleeves, POP displays, and dispenser boxes. Greenerprinter retail packaging can be used for tea boxes, candle boxes, soap boxes, or any other number of products – we’ll even print your custom items!

To make your packaging even more environmentally responsible, consider these guidelines from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, which states that sustainable packaging is:

• Beneficial, safe & healthy for individuals and communities
• Meets market criteria for performance and cost
• Sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy
• Optimizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials
• Manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices
• Made from materials healthy in all probable end of life scenarios
• Physically designed to optimize materials and energy
• Effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial closed loop cycles

To view the options for packaging, please visit the Eco-Friendly Packaging page on our website.

• Kraft board: If you’re looking for a more organic and sturdy look for your print materials, look no further. Kraft board is thick and durable, with a great natural look. Because of the darkness of the paper, we recommend it only for designs with dark colors and bold elements (definitely not a good idea for images or light, pastel colors). And, it’s eco-friendly just like all of our other papers – 100% recycled paper, with 50% post-consumer waste. 
  
• Door hangers: If there’s one promotion that can’t be missed, it’s the door hanger on your front door. It’s a great way to spread the word about your new promotion or to raise awareness for your campaign. Now with 100% recycled door hangers (printed with soy and vegetable-based inks, of course), you can have the peace of mind of knowing that your door hanger advertising is being done responsibly.
• Envelopes: Choose from an even wider selection of recycled envelopes. Remit envelopes (6.25 x 3.5″) make a great insert for your fundraiser, and 9 x 12″ catalogs can send a green message for larger mailings or meeting materials. Plus, you can order printed window envelopes, greeting card envelopes, and standard letterhead envelopes as well.
• Hang Tag Eyelets: We understand that you want your apparel hang tags to reflect the same quality as the product you’re selling. A 1/8″ brass eyelet on your recycled hang tag will provide both extra durability and a classy look. (Not printing hang tags? The eyelets can also be used for custom orders.)
• Calendars:  The 2010 calendar templates are now available! If you’re looking for an environmentally responsible giveaway, calendars are a great choice. Eco-friendly calendars printed on recycled paper send a message to your customers year-round about your commitment to sustainability.

Are there any other products that you would like to see? Most of our new products come from items that our clients requests, so be sure to leave us a note in the comments. You may see your product in a future update!