Our environmental direction

What it means for NAU

At Printing Services, we have a huge opportunity to influence the ecological impact of not only our department, but of the entire university. We continually review and adapt our processes to reflect our care and stewardship of the environment – from the initial ordering process to the delivery of your project and beyond.

Listed below are our sustainability efforts and how you can help.

Sustainable leadership awards

We were honored by Northern Arizona University’s Office of Sustainability to be awarded with the 2019 Greenest Office of the Year Trophy. We have also proudly earned the NAU Project/Organization Award Certificate.

How can you help?

  • Order our Go Green products wherever you see them. Go green products are either produced on 100% PCW or PVC-free materials.
  • Choose our non-toxic 100% PCW merchandise wrap when ordering manuals and other items.
  • Digitally sign and send estimate approvals via email rather than printing, signing and scanning.

Front Office

The front office is where we collect your printing orders. Our efforts to create paper waste efficiencies have also resulted in saved time overall. To help reduce waste – we:

  • All order tickets are printed double-sided to reduce waste.
  • Digitally archive quotes and estimates rather than print them.
  • Turned off our fax machine, reducing fax spam.
  • Use scrap paper for notes and doodling. Did you know doodling is good for the brain?
  • Our digital storefront and custom estimate request forms are ways for us to quickly gather all the information and approvals we need to help you with your project without using paper.

Digital Print Production

This is where your small format projects are produced, including flyers, postcards, and letterhead. In this area, paper stock is as important as paper usage. In our digital print area, we only offer FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified stocks and some are partially or all manufactured using PCW (post-consumer waste) content. The Forest Stewardship Council is an organization that works to promote the practice of sustainable forestry worldwide.

  • We now also offer a 100% PCW option for our 100# uncoated cardstock. Choose the Go Green option when ordering things like postcards, business cards, and notecards. Paper that is 100% PCW is fully recycles and no live trees were used during manufacturing. That’s a huge impact.
  • Please be sure to recycle your print projects when you are done with them!

Large Format Department

Most banners, posters, signage, and adhesive products are created in our large format department.

  • Our long-term signage and wall graphics are made of 3M Vinyl and overlaminate that is non-PVC and phthalate-free. They contain no added chlorine or halogens and are manufactured using 58% less solvents than standard films. They are also made in part using a bio-based material.
  • We also offer our stickers and other adhesive vinyl products using this PVC-free material, expanding our impact. Choose the Go Green option when ordering.
  • Our large format printers use water-based inks (not harmful solvent) and are Energy Star Certified.

Bindery, staging, and delivery

Bindery is where we cut, fold, and finish your project. Staging and Delivery is where we check in inventory, box, and deliver your product.

  • We have phased out the use of plastic shrink wrap and replaced it with merchandise wrap using non-toxic 100# PCW kraft paper sleeves. We also use 100% PCW identification labels.
  • We repurpose and reuse supplier and vendor packaging including paper boxes whenever possible.
  • You may have noticed our most recent change upon job delivery – the switch to a paperless digital delivery system.  We no longer use NCR paper for delivery receipts.
  • You may have also noticed our new e-bike delivering smaller print orders across campus! This helps keep our staff in shape and lower our emissions output.

Print Partners

Sometimes projects go out to our Print Partners, most of which have gone through a review process and must meet specific standards outlined by the university.

  • Most are FSC Certified, which means they are audited by the FSC. FSC Chain-of-Custody certification traces the path of products from forests through the supply chain, verifying that FSC-certified material is identified or kept separated from non-certified material throughout the chain.
  • Most print partners are locally based in Arizona, reducing shipping miles.
  • Most partners use soy and vegetable-based inks – and most use the newest technology that minimizes chemicals, plates and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).
  • Do you like that suede feel on your brochures and booklets? Our print partners use soft touch coating that is water-based, recyclable, and non-toxic.