The Gallery Collection, Vegetable-based inks

The Gallery Collection, the leading business Christmas card and personal Christmas card publisher, announces the use of vegetable-based inks in the printing of its greeting cards. The publishing company, which recently decided to go green, has been making numerous eco-friendly investments to show the company’s dedication and commitment to a cleaner environment.

The Gallery Collection’s greeting cards are finished at print shops that utilise agri-based inks made from vegetable oils, such as linseed oil. These vegetable-based inks were common prior to the 1960s, but petroleum-based inks popularized over the past several decades due to cheaper costs.

Petroleum-based inks, however, negatively impact the environment and print shop workers. These inks contain hazardous metals that contaminate the soil and groundwater when released into the environment. These inks also contain harmful solvents that emit volatile organiccompounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere, causing air pollution and ozone depletion. And when inhaled by print shop workers, VOCs can cause an array of illnesses such as bronchitis or depression.

Used as a substitute for petrochemical inks, vegetable inks significantly reduce toxic VOCs, benefiting the environment, the atmosphere, and print shop workers. Vegetable inks are also developed from renewable sources, whereas the global supply of petroleum will be exhausted indefinitely in years to come.

“The Gallery Collection is committed to making decisions that minimally impact the environment,” declared H.L. DeVore, Chief Marketing Officer of Prudent Publishing, The Gallery Collection’s parent company. “As a publisher of greeting cards, we have an obligation to our planet. We want our company to leave a smaller imprint on the environment, and this needs to reflect all aspects of our business…including the ink used to print our cards.”

To learn more about agri-based inks, please visit The Gallery Collection’s vegetable-based inks information page at http://www.gallerycollection.com/articles/vegetableinks.htm.

ABOUT THE GALLERY COLLECTION – Prudent Publishing’s The Gallery Collection is the leading publisher of premium quality personal Christmas cards and business Christmas cards in the United States. Established in 1929 and still family owned, the company offers direct-from-the-publisher prices that include customized ink and foil imprints, a large selection of memorable greetings, and matching deckle-edged envelopes made of recycled paper. The Gallery Collection also offers birthday cards, sympathy cards, and personal photo cards.

The Gallery Collection, UK launch, FSC Certified

The launch of The Gallery Collection in the UK marks a highly commendable addition to the Greeting card market.

Ethically and environmentally-sound U.S. based The Gallery Collection continue to "do the right thing." said H.L. DeVore, Chief Marketing Officer of Prudent Publishing, makers of The Gallery Collection line of greeting cards. "We want to conduct our business in a fashion that minimally impacts the environment and makes good economic sense."
"The Gallery Collection has made a commitment to wind power energy, specifically in the manufacturing of our greeting card stock and envelope stock. Currently, we sell 163 business Christmas cards, personal holiday cards, all occasion, and birthday greeting cards that are produced in windpower paper mills. Additionally, all of our envelopes are made in these eco-friendly facilities which are utilizing Green-e certified renewable energy."

The Gallery Collection use paper mills owned by Mohawk Fine Papers.
"Mohawk is at the forefront of environmentally sound manufacturing. Every day we look for better ways to reduce emissions, use clean energy, and protect the environment inside and outside our mills. On June 1, 2007 we increased our purchase of wind-generated electricity RECs to 100,000,000 kWh annually which represents 100% of the electric power required for all of Mohawk's operations in its New York and Ohio facilities.
Because paper manufacturing relies heavily on water, forests, and energy, it is our responsibility to care for these precious resources. At Mohawk, environmental stewardship is a top priority for everyone, every day. We act responsibly within our own mills and we require the same level of environmental performance from our suppliers."

Continuing in the vein of 'doing the right thing', The Gallery Collection have also announced that they have gained FSC Certification. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organization that brings people together to find solutions which promote responsible stewardship of the world’s forests.
Over the past 13 years, over 90 million hectares in more than 82 countries have been certified according to FSC standards while several thousand products are produced using FSC-certified wood and carrying the FSC trademark. FSC operates through its network of National Initiatives in 43 countries.

The Gallery Collection are also supporting two Charities, Marie Curie and Operation Smile
A donation of 10p for each card ordered will be given to either charity of the customers choice. Additionally, an elegantly embossed, self-adhesive charity seal is provided for the customer to add to the card or envelope.