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Before You Print That Page, Know the Environmental Impact of Printing

Know the environmental impact of printing, including paper waste, emissions, ink, cartridges, biodiversity, and 3D printing, plus ways to print smarter.

What are the biggest environmental impacts of printing?

The environmental impact of printing comes from several parts of the printing lifecycle. Paper is a major factor, but it is not the only one.

Here are the main areas businesses should consider:

Paper and forest resources
Carbon emissions
Energy use
Water use
Ink and chemical impacts
Paper waste
Cartridge waste
Printer and scanner e-waste
Overprinting
Effects on biodiversity
The footprint of digital alternatives
New technologies such as sustainable inks and 3D printing

Looking at the full lifecycle gives businesses a better picture than focusing only on the printed page.

How does printing affect forests?

Know the Environmental Impact of Printing | The Enterprise World — Source – solariccontrols.com

Paper production depends on fiber, much of which comes from wood. But it would be misleading to say that printing alone causes global deforestation. Forest loss has many causes, including agriculture, infrastructure, fires, mining, and other land-use changes.

Paper remains a large global industry. FAO reports that global paper and paperboard production reached 423 million tonnes in 2024, up about 4% from 2023. Wood pulp production reached 189 million tonnes, while global recovered paper use rose to 243 million tonnes.

This makes responsible fiber sourcing important. Recycled paper, certified sources, efficient production, and lower paper demand can reduce pressure on forest resources.

Solution: Print only when needed, choose recycled content where suitable, and look for credible forest-management certification such as FSC or PEFC.

What is the carbon impact of printing?

Printing creates emissions throughout its lifecycle. These can come from making paper and ink, operating printers, transporting supplies, moving finished products, and disposing of waste.

The carbon impact varies widely by paper type, print volume, energy source, printer technology, and transport distance. That is why a single “grams of CO₂ per printed page” figure can be misleading without a defined lifecycle and set of assumptions.

Solution: Reduce page volume, use efficient equipment, consolidate print jobs, and use digital workflows for documents that do not need a physical copy.

How much energy does printing use?

Printers, copiers, scanners, and production presses all use electricity. Energy is also used earlier in the process to make paper and other printing materials.

For office equipment, ENERGY STAR says certified printers, copiers, and scanners can use up to 35% less energy than conventional equipment, depending on the product and use pattern. ENERGY STAR also recommends power-management features and automatic duplex printing.

Keeping equipment longer, using sleep modes, reducing print volume, and avoiding unnecessary device replacement can also reduce resource use.

Solution: Choose energy-efficient equipment, enable sleep settings, and review whether every printer is still needed.

How does paper production affect water use?

Paper manufacturing uses water for processes such as pulping, washing, bleaching, and production. Modern mills can reuse and treat much of that water, so the actual impact varies by mill, technology, location, and production method.

This is why broad claims such as “one sheet of paper uses X gallons of water” are often too simple. A mill operating with strong water-reuse systems can have a very different water footprint from another facility.

Solution: Reduce paper use and ask suppliers about recycled fiber, water use, wastewater treatment, and environmental management.

Are eco-friendly inks better for the environment?

Ink choice matters because printing inks contain pigments, carriers, solvents, and other additives. Some traditional formulations can contain higher levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or rely on petroleum-derived components.

Soy-based inks use soybean oil as part of the ink vehicle. Soy-based formulations can have lower volatile content than petroleum-based inks in some printing applications. However, “soy ink” does not mean that an ink is completely free from petroleum-derived ingredients or automatically has a lower total environmental footprint. The full formula matters.

Algae-based inks are a newer option. Some commercial formulations use algae-derived pigments with water- or plant-based carriers. Living Ink, for example, describes an algae-based pigment made from algae waste that can replace carbon-black pigment in certain printing applications.

These technologies are promising, but businesses should avoid broad “green ink” claims without checking the product specifications, VOC content, substrate, recycling process, and end-of-life performance.

Solution: Ask printers and suppliers about VOC levels, ink chemistry, recycled-content compatibility, and third-party environmental certifications.

Can eco-friendly inks make paper easier to recycle?

Sometimes, but ink is only part of the picture.

Recycling often involves de-inking, which removes ink and other contaminants from used paper. The type of ink can affect how easily it is removed, but the paper, coatings, adhesives, and other materials also matter.

Solution: For commercial printing, check whether the paper, ink, coatings, and adhesives are compatible with your local recycling process.

What happens to unused paper and printed documents?

Overprinting creates waste before a document is even used. Drafts, duplicate copies, outdated policies, meeting packs, and forms can quickly become unnecessary waste, adding to the environmental impact of printing.

Recycling gives paper another use, but it still requires energy and resources. The better approach is to avoid unnecessary printing in the first place. The latest available U.S. EPA data show that 17.2 million tons of paper and paperboard were landfilled in 2018, showing how much paper waste can remain after use.

Solution: Review documents before printing, use digital approval workflows, and set double-sided printing as the default.

What happens to ink and toner cartridges?

Used cartridges contain plastic, metal, and other materials that can become waste if they are simply thrown away. Recycling or remanufacturing can keep some of these materials in use for longer.

Claims that cartridges take 450 or 1,000 years to decompose are too specific and are not a reliable way to measure their environmental impact.

Solution: Return used cartridges through the manufacturer or certified recycling programs. Where suitable, choose remanufactured cartridges that meet your printer’s quality requirements. EPA also recommends remanufacturing spent toner cartridges where practical.

How does old printing equipment add to e-waste?

Printers, copiers, scanners, and multifunction devices eventually become electronic waste. They contain plastics, metals, circuit boards, motors, and other components that require proper treatment.

Replacing equipment too often creates another environmental cost because manufacturing a new device requires raw materials, energy, and transport.

Solution: Extend device life where practical, repair before replacing, and use certified e-waste recyclers for equipment that has reached end of life.

Can overprinting increase a company’s environmental footprint?

Yes. A page that is printed and discarded without being used creates almost all of the environmental impacts of the print job without delivering much value.

Common causes include printing emails, duplicate reports, drafts, meeting materials, and documents that already exist in a shared digital system.

The problem is often the workflow rather than the printer. If employees must print a document to sign, scan, email, and store it again, the business has created unnecessary steps and waste.

Solution: Map common document workflows and remove paper steps where they are not required by law, policy, or customer needs.

Can printing affect biodiversity?

Yes. Printing increases demand for paper, and sourcing virgin fiber can put pressure on forests and the habitats they support. Pollution from paper production can also affect nearby air, soil, and water.

FAO reports that naturally regenerating forests cover 92% of the world’s forest area, but their total area has fallen by 324 million hectares since 1990. Because forests support a large share of global biodiversity, reducing unnecessary demand for virgin paper can help lower this pressure.

Solution: Print only when needed, choose recycled or responsibly sourced paper, and work with suppliers that follow strong environmental standards.

Is going digital always better for the environment?

Not automatically. Digital work also uses electricity and hardware. Cloud platforms, data centers, computers, phones, displays, storage systems, and networks all have environmental impacts.

The right comparison is therefore between the full lifecycle of the paper process and the full lifecycle of the digital process. For many routine office documents, avoiding printing removes paper, ink, transport, and waste. But businesses should still manage digital storage and device lifecycles responsibly.

Solution: Move suitable workflows online while reducing unnecessary data storage, extending device life, and choosing efficient digital services.

How can 3d printing add to the environmental impact of printing?

3D printing builds products layer by layer, which can reduce material waste compared with some traditional manufacturing methods. It can be useful for prototypes, custom parts, and small production runs.

But 3D printing is not automatically better for the environment. A 2025 review found that its impact depends on energy use, materials, waste, recycling, and the product’s full lifecycle.

Newer options such as recycled plastics, biodegradable polymers, and bio-based materials may reduce some impacts, but they still have trade-offs in cost, performance, and recycling.

Solution: Compare the full lifecycle before choosing 3D printing. Consider the material used, electricity, failed prints, post-processing, transport, and end-of-life recycling.

What is a paperless office in 2026?

A paperless office does not mean banning every sheet of paper. It means moving routine document creation, review, approval, signing, storage, and sharing into digital workflows whenever paper is not needed.

A practical Paperless Office 2026 stack can look like this:

Need	Recommended capability	Example tools
Document creation	Cloud-based word processing	Microsoft Word/SharePoint or Google Docs
File storage	Central document repository	SharePoint, OneDrive, or Google Drive
Search and document capture	OCR and indexed search	Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace capabilities
Approvals	Automated digital workflows	Power Automate + SharePoint
E-signatures	Digital signing and audit trail	Adobe Acrobat Sign or another approved e-sign platform
Forms	Digital data collection	Microsoft Forms or Google Forms
Collaboration	Shared editing and comments	Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
Records management	Retention and lifecycle controls	Microsoft Purview/SharePoint or equivalent
Backup	Independent data protection	Organization-approved backup service
Printing	Controlled print management	Print management software + device fleet controls

The important point is not the brand names. A paperless office needs five things working together. Those are create, store, approve, sign, and retain.

What should a sustainable printing policy include?

A good policy should make the sustainable choice the easy choice.

Your office policy can include:

Double-sided printing as the default.
Black-and-white printing for routine documents.
Digital approval and e-signature wherever permitted.
Recycled or certified paper as the preferred option.
Printer sleep settings and automatic power management.
Cartridge return or recycling requirements.
Device repair and lifecycle targets.
Quarterly print-volume reviews.
A process for securely disposing of confidential paper.
A clear exception process for documents that legally or operationally require printing.

The policy should also assign ownership. Someone in IT, procurement, facilities, or sustainability should track the results rather than leaving the policy as a set of suggestions.

What does a real-world circular printing program look like?

Take-back programs can keep used cartridges and other printing supplies in use instead of sending them to landfills.

Xerox’s Green World Alliance, for example, collects used supplies for reuse and recycling. Xerox reported in 2025 that it had diverted more than 600,000 metric tons of equipment, parts, and supplies from landfills since 2009.

This approach can help businesses reduce the environmental impact of printing.

The key lesson is that recycling works better when collection is part of the purchasing process. Businesses should give employees clear return options and consider end-of-life recycling when choosing printing suppliers.

Conclusion

The environmental impact of printing is not limited to paper. It includes forests, water, energy, inks, cartridges, equipment, transport, and waste.

For businesses, the biggest opportunity is to print less and manage the printing that remains more carefully. A mix of recycled or certified paper, lower-impact inks, efficient equipment, responsible recycling, and digital workflows can reduce waste without disrupting work.