As Ray stated, many of the papers out there are already FSC-certified. The problem is now the printer has to spend a few thousand dollars to get a piece of paper saying they are certified so the client can print the FSC bug on their product.

It's true that many papers are FSC certified. And if a printer offers FSC certified paper, then what advantage is there for the printer to become certified as well? I mean, if the client is getting the "green" paper then what difference does it make if the printing company is certified or not?

That's a good question, JR. The issue is: Are you mixing the FSC paper with other papers in the same job as well as how are you handling the waste, trim and that which can be recycled? To be quite candid, some printers do stretch the truth (just a bit) and need certification and yearly audits to keep them on track.

The reason you should support FSC papers is simple: Your business relies completely on the fact that paper be readily available at an affordable price point. By supporting FSC-certified papers and companies, you are ensuring that our forests are managed in a more sustainable and responsible manner—and, in turn, helping to maintain the paper supply and pricing points our industry relies on. Provided they are managed responsibly, our forests can continue to produce the fiber necessary to serve our markets indefinitely. If not, then our industry will certainly be downsized considerably as the increased cost of paper eats away at our margins AND revenues, as customers find cheaper communication outlets like the Internet and mobile media. THAT's why you should support FSC.

Thanks for clarifying that most of the papers we use are FSC-certified. I was aware of the symbol but never knew that we were printing green. By the way, we have to be responsible citizens and try to be as much green as possible. It is what we do today that will make our kids to live in a better place when they grow up. It is all about being responsible. We are a online printshop www.PrintPapa.com and we currently do not offer any FSC-certified paper. I am going to introduce that very soon. But our print shop is green. We print on Presstek DI, which is a waterless press; we use the CTP system which just has a water wash. It's zero chemistry. I turn off each and every computer before I leave home except the main server and the backup. I turn off every light, fan and air conditioniing before I leave the shop. I don't like wasting energy. Bottom line we should support FSC, even if it costs a little extra.