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

The Tray Way: Will Greenwashing Ever Be Scrubbed Out?

Greenwashing is the marketing practice some businesses undertake to represent themselves as a “green” company in order to attract specific demographics and create a unique persona within the marketplace, when in fact, they are not "green" at all.

Is it illegal? Not technically.

Is it immoral? Probably...but, that doesn’t stop companies in industries ranging from travel to baby care to non-profits (and, depending on with whom you speak, a beloved Dr. Seuss character may even be involved also) from developing certain messaging promoting themselves as forward-thinking when the truth is that their internal or external policies prove otherwise.

However, this practice is backfiring on companies, and while some individuals have strong opinions as to the backstory about why greenwashing continues, we choose to ask the question, "how can it be eliminated (or at least minimized)?"

The fact that a term has been invented to describe these types of negative strategies is a very good first step, and helps raise awareness. The second is to give companies credit that are trying to do things the right way, whether it be in a small or large capacity. For example, as an organization that has been certified and commended for being an authentic, environmentally-aware business, a company that chooses to use Tray for their print marketing needs should be able to present themselves as "green" organization for choosing to partner with a reputable firm. By encouraging those that are making any effort, we can  help build momentum towards a stronger, long-term solution. And, we are happy to help lead the charge towards scrubbing out greenwashing.

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

The Tray Way: Where do we stand with the QR Code?

Over the past couple weeks, we have shared a series of articles on our social media pages on how the QR Code technology has been evolving to allow organizations to take more strategic advantage of their power. While there are number of examples, here are a couple of our favorites:

The Inaudible QR Code:

SonicNotify, a start-up company, has developed a technology that will enable a smartphone - through an app - to receive data via high frequency sound inaudible to the human ear. According to a recent article:

The signals would be sufficient to transmit, say, a web address that could be automatically opened by your smartphone. These frequencies could be embedded into any audio being played through a speaker, and provide contextual information to the user. So, museums and art galleries could effectively transmit detailed information on their exhibits via their apparently silent PA systems.

The Product Logo QR Code

For those that like the visual aspects of QR Codes, but not the mystery of what is behind it, there is an answer. Mobile Visual Search (MVS) is QR Code technology 2.0. The concept is similar to the previous, but instead of sound, it simply entails taking a picture of a logo to get more information. The mobile technology would recognize images (specifically those related to a brand) and lead the user directly to more information. Some of its advantages include…

MVS will have wrap-around and three-dimensional recognition capabilities. Even traditional advertising will be revitalized with MVS. For example, picture an interactive print campaign that incorporates MVS as part of a competition or game. Marketers can offer instant gratification in the form of videos, mobile links, coupons or discounts as incentive for taking the best pictures of a particular product or logo.

The idea behind the QR Code as a marketing tool has been very intriguing over the past several years. You see that black-and-white square on signage, and there is an air of mystery about what is behind that code. What website will it lead to? What message will I be privy to? The concept has worked to some extent, although the fact that only about 14 million mobile users in the U.S. have utilized a QR Code indicates that its popularity has not reached the extent of other technologies.

However, as we as marketers predicted, the current QR Code technology is very much a transition to something more safe and appealing. The current QR Code technology has the ability to hide spyware or fraudulent information behind it, and is therefore becoming more untrustworthy as a communications mechanism (although, when used to supplement a marketing campaign, it works beautifully. Here are some examples). However, as with many other things, if the QR Code's negatives can be fixed, and its positives enhanced, then this is just the first generation of a marketing technique that has the ability to be very, very profitable.

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