So Just How Green Is Fine Print Imaging?

I promise! I am only going to use the word “Green” three times in this blog. And since I’ve already used it twice, um… I’ve got to do some fancy footwork since this whole blog is about being… environmentally conscientious.

Fine Print Imaging has been around for 35 years, so naturally we’ve seen a lot of transition in earth friendly philosophies. In September 1969, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced that in spring 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration about the environment and that was the start of Earth Day.

That certainly shaped our small staff’s philosophy about how we wanted to run our business. That and also being products of the 60s and 70s generations.

And here we are today. Has Fine Print Imaging evolved into being a good steward of our planet’s resources? Let’s take a look:

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• Our commitment to conservation began with Images for the Environment in the 1980s and continues today with our Art for Conservation program.
  


• Fine Print Imaging was awarded the 2009 Environmental Business Award by the Fort Collins, Colorado, Chamber of Commerce.
  


• We promote grass-roots conservation initiatives by providing tens of thousands of dollars in printing services to artists, photographers and organizations world-wide who are working to protect and preserve the natural world and its inhabitants.
  
• As a founding member and partner of the North American Nature Photography Association, we initiated the Philip Hyde Conservation Grant which annually gives $5,000 to a photographer who is using his or her photography to help preserve the planet.
  
• We partner closely with the International League of Conservation Photographers, and a host of other conservation artists and organizations, providing funding, services and gallery space to promote their efforts to further environmental and cultural conservation through photography and art.
  
• In addition to being 100% Alternative Energy Powered, Fine Print and its employees are focused on environmental responsibility in all of our daily decisions and actions. As we add new products to our printing line, conserving our natural resources and the quality of our environment is foremost in our minds.
  
• Our fine art papers are made from either cotton or bamboo, both recyclable. Our papers made from easily replenished bamboo come from farmers in Thailand who are contracted by Hahnemühle, our paper supplier. Our cotton papers are made from cotton waste created by the textile industry. Neither our bamboo nor cotton papers are processed using chlorine.
  
• We use “soft-proofing” wherever practical to color correct images. This requires no paper.
  
• We have always far exceeded the EPA’s standards for our water quality (refuse water from our photo printing process).
  
• Every scrap of recyclable paper is saved and recycled - much of it through re-use by making “Art Packs” for our customers and students.
  
• We participate at the 100% EPA Eco Partnership level. (OK, the word isn’t really “Eco”, but I’m saving that other word for the end.)

This November, I’ve been invited to present at the World Wilderness Congress in Merida, Mexico.The two presentations I'll make will highlight the importance of conservation photography in convincing people to care for their planet. Face it, if we mess this one up, we really don’t have any other options.

While I’d like to think that they selected me for the presentations because of my charisma and natural intelligence (not likely), the real reason is that Fine Print Imaging and its employees have demonstrated throughout the last 35years that not only are they great stewards of our planet, they also are committed to assisting others deliver the conservation message.

If you think like us, we strongly urge you to join us not just as a customer, but as someone who wants to join an organization that will work with you to keep our planet Green!