FSC Printing

Hodgins Engraving Co. is a FSC certified printer.
Certificate #SGSNA-COC-004420

What, exactly, does FSC certification mean?
FSC

Take, for example, the life of a business card printed for a "green" construction company, who wishes to promote their commitment to the environment on their printed stationery. In order to print the FSC logo on their business cards, which are printed on FSC paper, we as a FSC certified printer must have purchased that paper from a FSC certified paper merchant. In turn, the merchant must have purchased the paper from an FSC certified mill. That mill has produced the paper from pulp which has been made from a tree that grew in an FSC certified forest.

The forests get certified by independent, third-party agencies that assess forest management using FSC principles, criteria, and standards, while employing their own evaluative processes, upholding the integrity of the standard behind FSC values. There are twelve independent FSC monitoring agencies worldwide. While the landowners who own the trees get certified based on how they manage their forests, the paper merchants who sell FSC paper and the FSC certified printers get certified based on their commitment to upholding the FSC chain of custody. To assure the credibility of printed claims, it is necessary to maintain a traceable trail of each FSC printed product back to those certified forests.

"FSC's model of certification allows products that flow from certified forests to enter the marketplace with a credential that is unique. Any FSC labeled product can be traced back to a certified source. This aspect of the system is the basis for any credible certification system and is the link between consumer preference and responsible, on the ground forest management." (fscus.org)

How do I begin to order a "green" print job?
FSC

Talk to us about what your customer feels is most important message they want to convey. Is it enough for them to simply use a recycled or FSC certified paper? Or would their consumers benefit from seeing the FSC logo printed on their stationery? If they are looking for a recycled paper, today there are almost as many options available as non-recycled paper. Talk to us about the weight, color, finish and we will recommend some options. Other factors that go into production include the ink used. The ink that we typically use for offset printing is manufactured from a combination of soy, flaxseed oil, and a mixture of vegetable oils. Engraving ink is water-based.

How do I begin to order an FSC certified print job?
FSC

Again, talk to us about the weight, color, finish of the paper the customer is looking for, and we will present some FSC paper options. When designing the artwork, there must be room left to insert the proper FSC label, which will be inserted by us after you have submitted the artwork. There are different FSC labels, which bear varying descriptions based on what paper is chosen. Further details can be found in the FSC logo section below.
Once we have your artwork and have inserted the proper FSC logo, it is then submitted to our auditing agency to approve the usage of the logo. If necessary, we may need to change the size or location of the label to adhere to their guidelines.
Once we have the approved artwork, the job is ready to print! There are multiple steps to processing an FSC order, to ensure the chain of custody is upheld, that we manage internally. To your vantage point, the order is printed and shipped much like your other orders would be. Your invoice and the packing slip will indicate an FSC certified job, and have complete FSC label information of the paper used.

Which FSC logo will be used?
There are three FSC logos that pertain to printed materials. We will choose the appropriate logo depending on the paper used to produce the project.


The 100% FSC logo indicates all of the fiber used in the production of the paper comes from FSC forests.		The mixed sources logo is used when virgin fiber from a well-managed forest is used along with recycled fiber or fiber from controlled sources. The percentage of post consumer recycled fiber is added into the triangle.		The recycled FSC logo is used when all of the fiber in the paper comes from recycled sources and has been FSC certified.