The Tray Way: Some Ink for Soy Ink

When it comes to environmentally-friendly practices in the business community, there are those that everyone knows about, and then there are those that are less famous, but can easily be used to differentiate those that are truly trying to make a difference and those that are simply paying lip service.

One example of this is soy ink.

Most don’t think about the actual ink on paper, but soy ink is beneficial for three reasons:

1. A soy-base is much more environmentally-friendly than what standard ink is made of: a petroleum-base. 
2. Using soy ink makes the paper it is used on more recyclable
3. Soy is more available in the United States, and therefore can be made here easier. 

Soy ink was the end-product of R&D done by, of all organizations, the Newspaper Association of America. In the late-1970’s, oil prices were skyrocketing and the NAA had the resources and expertise to conceptualize a more cost-efficient method for printing. It took nearly a decade, but the soy ink finally made its way to the consumer. Now, soy ink of all kinds exist, containing between 7% - 40% of the product. Approximately 25% of commercial printers use soy ink and it continues to grow as a commodity, so much so that on the National Soy Ink Information Center website – a site developed to popularize and educate the product – currently has this published on their website:

The National Soy Ink Information Center is now closed. Due to the success of the soy ink industry, we feel there is no longer a need to continue our work promoting soy ink and its acceptance through the National Soy Ink Information Center. In short, the soy ink industry is such a success that you don’t need us anymore!

The truth is that if you are using recycled paper, but are using standard-ink, you are only accomplishing a percentage of the green marketing capabilities you could be. Make sure the company you are using for all your print collateral has the knowledge and the experience to use the smartest strategy on your behalf. It is better for your company’s public perception, it is better for the country and better for the planet.

The Tray PML Way is the blog for Tray, experts in the printing, mailing, logistics and promotional products. You can learn more about our capabilities by visiting our website, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages.
information about the company and its successes, visit www.traypml.com