Printing
Sustainable printing: printing on surplus paper
We produce printed materials on paper already held by our partner print shops. Risography, screen printing and other methods — produced on site, where the paper is stored.
Printing on existing paper starts with the sheet
Paper is the largest material component of a printed item. Using existing sheets rather than having new paper produced keeps the material in use in its existing form, without recycling it first.
We do not buy additional paper for an order. Instead, we check the stock at our 15 partner print shops for sheets with a suitable size, weight and quantity. See the paper overview for what is currently available.
Risography and screen printing
Risography prints with individual spot colours applied one after another. It works with different paper types and produces a distinctive halftone texture — well suited to material that is not uniform to begin with.
Screen printing is suitable for bold areas of colour, heavy papers and spot colours, for example on covers. Both methods require colour separations; you can create these directly in your browser with our free tools and download them as PNG, SVG or PDF files.
How a printing enquiry works
01
Describe your project
Size, extent, required quantity, deadline and whether print files are already available.
02
Find suitable paper
We look for suitable sheets in our partner print shops’ stock and suggest printing methods.
03
Production
Where possible, printing and finishing take place at the print shop holding the paper, keeping transport to a minimum.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about printing on surplus paper
What exactly does printing on surplus paper mean?
We print on sheets already held by a print shop: offcuts from completed print runs, misprints, sample sheets or surplus stock. No additional paper is bought and no new pulp is produced for the order.
Which printing methods are available?
Mainly risography and screen printing, plus letterpress, embossing and offset printing at our partner print shops depending on the project. The right method depends on the paper, its weight and the design.
Can I test my design beforehand?
Yes. Our free tools let you create colour separations, halftones and gradients for risography and download them as PNG, SVG or PDF files.
How large can the print run be?
From 50 copies. The actual quantity depends on the available material and is agreed after inspecting the paper; small and medium print runs are the norm.
What is the benefit of printing on existing surplus paper?
The order uses existing paper rather than having new paper produced. Each sheet is reused in its existing form, without needing to be recycled first.