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As producers of, let’s face it, mass amounts of print, there has never been a more important time to really consider the effects you could be having on the environment with each piece of print you produce. We really do have a responsibility to take a step back and see if there are any changes we can make to our usual print production routine.

With a little help from the lovely people at Green House Print and the Aldridge Print Group, I’ve put together some points that will give you some food for thought in how you can green your print with ease. It could even save you money. Yeah, that got your attention.

1. Reduce brochure production
Many organisations now realise the cost implication of simply distributing an entire season brochure. At Audiences Central, we have seen many variations on how to promote a full season without distributing a full, 30 page document but the one we like best is the 'brochure light'. These are most notably used by The REP, Belgrade and Birmingham Hippodrome theatres, Warwick Arts Centre, and were also seen being used by the International Dance Festival Birmingham last year.

For general and wide distribution, why not consider creating a much smaller booklet or even a folded leaflet to promote the key highlights of your programme or work? You can keep the comprehensive document for direct mailings to people on your mailing list i.e. people who you know will be interested in thumbing through the whole thing. This could dramatically reduce your printing costs not to mention the carbon footprint caused by heavy weighted brochures in a distribution van.

Don’t forget to make use of online resources too. You can always use your print to signpost people to your website where you put up more information than you might need to in print. At the very least, when you are planning your next brochure, get a price comparison on your usual spec against one for a reduced size and see if that helps to sway your decision.

2. Paper
There is now a much wider choice of recycled papers on the market which means that printing on recycled paper doesn't have to mean your print looks cheap. Your printers will be only too pleased to send you some samples of recycled paper. Why not ask to see some for your next print job?

You should also check to see whether your printer has any accreditations such as FSC and PEFC which guarantee that the paper you use comes from sustainable and managed forests. Think about how much greener your conscience would be if you knew that all the paper you were using wasn't going to impact on the social and ecological needs of present and future generations.

Think about the weight of the paper you use too. We all know that bigger weights add gravitas to print but does that extra 100gsm REALLY matter? The thicker the paper, the more trees you need to make it. Sound obvious? It is, which is why we can all understand it and make the effort to change. A little goes a long way.

3. Inks
You know how strong freshly printed materials smell? Pretty great if you ask me but, unsurprisingly, they’re not that healthy for my head or the atmosphere. In fact, they’re rather awful and contribute to creating smog as well as affecting the quality of water and soil.

You can significantly reduce the emissions produced in your printing by opting for naturally sourced vegetable oil based inks. Think wishy washy? Think again. These inks can still pack a punch so your print won’t get lost in the crowd. Again, ask your printers whether they use these. If they don’t ask them if they have any plans to in the future or, better still, take your business to a printer that does!

So, ideal scenario, make all of these changes and make a massive difference and strut around in full confidence that you’ve changed the world… (…a little bit). Second best case scenario, make just one of these changes and strut around in full confidence that you’ve changed the world… (…a littler bit). To be honest, to even think about these things for your next print job would be a good effort.

Whatever you do, please do something!

I wanted to share two great examples of customer service from one of our member organisations, DanceXchange.

A few of us from the office went to see Bare Bones 6 – a DanceXchange production at the Patrick Centre, Birmingham. As soon as we were all seated in the space, we were notified by Artsitic Director David Massingham that, unfortunately, one of the dancers was unable to perform due to injury. He said that although this reduced the performing company from six to five the safety of their dancers must come first. David explained that three of the four pieces had been affected but so as to still give us a good show, nothing had been cut and that the company had been working over the last hour to try and alter the pieces so that they could still perform.

As a ‘seasoned’ performer myself, I can only imagine the levels of concern when an hour before curtain up, someone has to bail on their fellow performers, especially in such a very select group. The whole company, (dancers and technicians), must have worked really hard to make the show workable in that hour where a lesser company might have cancelled the event entirely. I must say I’ve no idea how they made a hugely interactive trio, where the dancers were completely intertwined and relied on the accompanying sound effects even to move, into such a seamless duet with less than an hour to practice. Their concern for us punters really came through and the company delivered a great show in the face of adversity.

The second example stems from my own ambition to lose some Christmas fat by taking up a dance class at one of DanceXchange’s varied opportunities. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no dancer. Well, that’s not strictly true. Give me half a chance on the dance floor on a Saturday night and I’ll tear it up good and proper ‘cause I got rhythm, girlfriend. When it comes to form though, (despite many a ballet, jazz and tap class as a child), I find I am somewhat less than graceful which, let’s face it, is a pretty large part of dance. I’m hoping that once I strengthen my ‘core’ I’ll suddenly turn into the next Martha Graham.

Anyway, after one of the classes, Maria (our painfully uber-flexible dance mentor) enquired as to whether anyone came from or through the Stirchley area on their way to class. The reason being that a lady had been in touch with DanceXchange to say that she’d really like to get involved with the classes but that she didn’t drive and suffered from agoraphobia and so wasn’t able to use public transport. The organisation told the lady that they would ask around to see if anyone could give her a lift in. To show their appreciation for giving the lady a lift to class, the organisation offered the helpful volunteer their own dance class completely free of charge.

Both these relatively small occurrences shed a completely new light on a company I had, all but recently, held very little knowledge of in terms of its personality. It’s really nice to know that as an audience member, dancer and a participant, the organisation really has its customers’ best interests at heart. I left both events with a warm, fuzzy feeling that DanceXchange really does care about its customers.

Thanks DanceXchange. We love you, too!