Holiday cards and year-end print on 100% recycled paper.Request a quote →

Call GregRequest a quote
← All eco questions

Materials & Paper

What does "recycled paper" actually mean?

"Recycled paper" only means that some of the fiber in the sheet came from recovered material, and the amount varies a lot from one paper to the next. Historically, US guidelines set minimums of around 30% post-consumer content for uncoated paper and 10% for coated paper, so a sheet could be called recycled while most of its fiber was still virgin pulp.

There are also two kinds of recycled fiber. Post-consumer waste (PCW) is paper that people used and put in a recycling bin. Pre-consumer waste is trimmings and scrap from mills and converters that never reached a user. The post-consumer figure is the one that matters most, because it keeps used paper out of landfill.

When you compare quotes, ask for the post-consumer percentage of the exact stock. Our preference is 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and you can see the stocks we run most on the paper stocks page.

Get a quote for your project

Tell us what you are printing and we will follow up with paper options and a quote. There is no online cart, and pricing is based on your quantity and specifications.