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Glossy paper used by most magazines is bad for the
environment, yet most publishers still use it, even the outdoors and
environmental titles. What’s the scoop?
It’s no secret that glossy coatings on magazine
covers make pictures really “pop” and attract the eye, thus
helping publications compete for attention on ever more crowded newsstands.
According to Jerry Stranahan of Lane Press, a Vermont-based printer that
produces some 350 different magazines, publishers are increasingly putting
the emphasis on graphics and photography, and glossy papers have become the
industry norm, for both covers and interior pages — and, yes, this
includes many outdoors and nature titles. The basic glossy finish of a magazine cover or inside
page is usually built into the paper itself at the time of manufacture,
typically with the use of either clay or calcium carbonate. From a
materials perspective, clay-based kaolin is the more environmentally
friendly of the two, though clay makes the re-pulping of paper
“gunkier” and therefore more difficult to work with in the
subsequent recycling process. Calcium carbonate also has its pros and cons:
“The calcium is lighter, thus it takes less fuel to transport it, and
it acts as a whitener, so less chlorine is needed to bleach the
paper,” says Frank Locantore, who directs the WoodWise program for
the nonprofit Coop America, “but it drives the destruction of
mountaintops in Vermont and elsewhere in order to get at the
mineral.”
Other glossy coatings are sometimes applied later at
the printer as the last step in the printing process. In addition to
enhancing the look of the cover, these coatings are used for the purpose of
reducing the scuffing covers endure in handling and through the mail.
Publishers generally have three choices: “varnish,”
“aqueous” or “UV” coatings. Varnish, essentially a clear petroleum-based ink (no
pigment), is similar to the other inks that have already been applied to
the paper. Aqueous coatings are water-based clear inks that use few
chemicals but need a lot of heat to dry them, thereby entailing greater
energy usage. Another option is UV coating, a very glossy finish usually
applied to heavier cover stocks and often used by fashion magazines and
others going for a very slick appearance. The “UV” refers to
the ultraviolet light used to dry it after application. It consumes less
energy than heat, though the UV coatings themselves contain large amounts
of petroleum-derived chemicals.
“Magazines want to be competitive on the
newsstands, and most need to have a glossy cover in order to do so,”
says Locantore. “Government,” he says, “should create
incentives for [research and development] that develops hazardous
chemical-free processes for papermaking and printing.” Locantore also
says that consumers can play a key role in moving the industry forward by
making their preferences for sustainable choices known to the magazines
they read and subscribe to. E-mails, phone calls, or letters to publishers
urging greener sourcing and operations will not go unnoticed, he says.
For more information:
Lane Press, www.lanepress.com; Co-op America’s WoodWise Program, www.coopamerica.org/programs/woodwise.
Send questions to Earth Talk, care of E/The Environmental Magazine,
P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail earthtalk@emagazine.com.
This article appears in Nov 8-14, 2007.
