How Green are Vistaprint Business Cards

Alicia Samuel
4 min readDec 12, 2022

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Vistaprint is one of the largest printers of business cards around the world. They print on hundreds of different materials, from paper to leather, and have been doing so for nearly 30 years. Vistaprint produces business cards, posters, and more for clients, from big brands to small businesses worldwide. But are their business cards that good? How Green is Vistaprint business cards? What are the cons of business cards that they print?

paper business cards

Vistaprint business cards Wood Printing

In a world where everything gets digitized, a business card is often the only form of physical contact we have with a new connection. Most business card printing services use wood as the default material because it’s easy to cut, shape, and print. They’ve been around for almost two decades and have a strong following among web-savvy professionals. They offer print services like business cards, labels, booklets, flyers, etc. You can choose from various options for your print project, including paper stock, print colors, etc. You can choose from two main types of materials for your business card: paper stock and paper type.

How Vistaprint creates pollution

At Vistaprint, the average customer spends $500 a year on paper products. The company has found that it can reduce this by 50 percent by making its business paper-free. All printed materials are created with wood, meaning they come directly destroy trees. This increase in paper need has resulted in over 200 metric tons of CO2 annually and the impact of nearly 500,000 tons of solid waste.

Environmental Impact of Wood Printing

Paper production has a significant impact on the environment. Between pulp production, shipping, and manufacturing, about one-third of the energy used in paper production comes from water and chemicals. The process also releases about 30% of its carbon emissions into the air.

According to the World watch Institute, the global demand for paper products is expected to grow by 8% a year through 2030 due to rapid population growth, economic development, and increased use of information technology. But this growth will come with a cost: paper production consumes 40% of the world’s electricity and accounts for about 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Wood printing has been linked to deforestation.

Most people do not realize that the tree printing process is connected to deforestation, but it is, because trees are needed to make paper. But if the trees aren’t available, we need to get another article source. That source is usually pulpwood, a type of wood used in paper manufacturing. Since most of the world’s forests are located in South America, Asia, and Africa, pulpwood comes from there. Unfortunately, this method of papermaking is damaging our environment. Tree printing has been linked to deforestation. In fact, between 1990 and 2000, one-third of the world’s forests were lost. The pulpwood is also being used to fuel the industrial processes, which creates even more deforestation. This method of paper

Cons of using plastic Printing that Vistaprint offers

Vistaprint offers a wide range of services, including custom printing, full-color printing, personalized stationery, direct mail, and even promotional gifts such as mugs and mouse pads. Vistaprint specializes in fast turnaround times. Most plastic products look identical, no matter who makes them. That’s because the design of each piece is a function of its cost and ease of production. But when it comes to plastics, the same product can have radically different appearances depending on who’s making it. Plastic printing uses color to convey information about the manufacturer and the product.

Low-Quality Printing

To print 500 business cards with Vistaprint, you only need to pay $9.99. That is extremely low in comparison to other printing services and nearly impossible! Also, this price does not include shipping costs, which comes as a surprise to most people.

So, how does Vistaprint accomplish this feat? Here’s their secret: they make their cards as cheap as possible to cut costs while still making a profit. You can tell the difference when you compare their business cards to those of a more reliable supplier. Their cards are sometimes smaller and made of a thinner material.

Poor Quality Business Cards Can Affect Your Credibility

First impressions are essential, especially for small businesses. You want to appear and feel as legitimate as possible so that potential customers can confidently do business with you. Investing in a high-quality website and other marketing materials, such as business cards, is critical.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the good thing to remember when designing a Green Business Card is to make sure it looks good on both sides. When planning your card, use colors and images that look great on both the front and the back of the card. Designing a green business card will ensure you create something unique that your clients will proudly display. The final design of the card should also be simple and easy to read. Make sure your business card is printed with environmentally friendly ink or toner.

The best alterative to paper business cards is Digital Business Cards from ShareEcard, which are sustainable and cost $10 USD for one year subscription.

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