hen you need good, solid information to help you defend print as an environmentally responsible choice, there are many great online resources. Here are just 13. These are in no particular order, and it’s not a comprehensive list. Your comments are most welcome.

1. Paper Because by Domtar Paper – www.paperbecause.com

The Paper Because website is excellent and beautiful. Check out their Paper Is Knowledge section and don’t miss their really short videos. Hilarious!

2. Sappi’s eQ campaign – www.na.sappi.com/eQ/

Sappi Fine Paper’s eQ campaign is its sustainability brand. “eQ” stands for Environmental Quotient. Their goal is to elevate the environmental knowledge of their customers. Lots of videos at this site. Follow the blog of Laura Thompson, Director of Sappi’s Technical Marketing and Sustainable Development (and follow her on Twitter at .

3. Rediscover Print by PIAG (a PIA affiliate) –

The Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia Educational Foundation offers another fantastic resource. I like their “Know Your Print” section very much.

4. Print Grows Trees by PGAMA (a PIA affiliate) – www.printgrowstrees.org

The Printing & Graphics Association MidAtlantic created this campaign. “Print Grows Trees is an educational campaign that uses facts to show that print on paper actually helps to grow trees and keep our forests from being sold for development.” Terrific site – and the Print Grows Trees logo gets my vote as the best-in-class!

5. Choose Print by PIASC (a PIA affiliate) – www.chooseprint.org

The Printing Industries Association of Southern California is the sponsor of the Choose Print campaign. Choose Print “is an educational campaign designed to promote the value of print and to reinforce the fact that print is a recyclable, renewable and sustainable environmental choice,” according to the site.

6. Part of Life by PrintNZ – http://partoflife.co.nz

PrintNZ is the printing industry trade association of New Zealand. “The Print: Part of Life” campaign aims to remind consumers of print’s irreplaceable role in their lives and inform them of what print can offer.

7. Two Sides – www.twosides.us

Two Sides' mission is “to help people gain a better understanding of why print and paper is a versatile and sustainable communications medium. Two Sides began in Europe in 2008 and is now active in 12 countries, with links to similar projects in Australia and Japan. There’s a massive amount of information on the site, including Myths & Facts that print customers/marketers can and should use, and a very impressive Resources section.

8. Institute for Sustainable Communication
www.sustainablecommunication.org

ISC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in NYC “whose mission is to raise awareness, build capacity and foster the widespread adoption of economically viable, environmentally restorative and socially constructive uses of print and digital media.” The site is rich with articles, videos, events, white papers and more. ISC’s Don Carli has spoken at PBI conferences. He’s not called the “Dean of Green” for nothing. Talk about knowledgeable!

9. The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership
http://www.sgppartnership.org/

SGP is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 2008 that provides certification labels for sustainability in the graphic arts industry. According to my industry colleague Gary Jones (Director, Environmental, Health & Safety Affairs for PIA/GATF), it’s the only sustainability certification program for printing operations.

10. Print in the Mix at RIT – www.printinthemix.com

Print in the Mix: A Clearinghouse of Research on Print Media Effectiveness is housed at RIT (the Rochester Institute of Technology) in NY.  Established with a grant from The Print Council, its purpose is to “advocate and educate for the value of print as a viable and effective ROI in the marketing strategy media mix.” There’s a ton of compelling research here.

11. Print Delivers by The Print Council
http://theprintcouncil.org/initiatives/print-delivers-seminar-series/

The Print Council created “Print Delivers” as a series of educational seminars to help “educate media and marketing decision makers about the effectiveness of print and why print should be an important part of marketing campaigns.”

12. Do You Know the Facts? by The Millcraft Group
http://www.doyouknowthefacts.com

Run by The Millcraft Group, an independently owned paper distributor headquartered in Ohio, Do You Know the Facts? is an educational campaign that has great videos and its own list of resources on this topic. I particularly like the simplicity of the site’s design. Really nice.

13. The Value of Print by PIA – http://value.printing.org/

Check out this site from PIA, the Printing Industries of America, to learn how the trade association is championing print and responding to the increase in reporting that electronic media is more environmentally friendly than print.

There you are: 13 terrific resources to help educate you about the sustainability of print. Please add your comments to this column and suggest additional resources.

© 2012 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You’re free to forward this email. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author