Going Green in Desktop Publishing, Part 1: How Green Do You Want to Be?

“It’s not easy being green” crooned Kermit the Frog in that old familiar tune, but going green in your desktop publishing business can be easy (and even improve your bottom line), provided you first take the time to explore what it will mean for your business. Essentially, if you decide you are ready to take the leafy green leap (or should I say ‘hop’?), you’ll need to do a bit of home work. In Part 1 of this series on Going Green in Desktop Publishing, we make the decision process a little easier for you. Before you make any changes to your business plan, you need to first ask yourself these five questions:

1. Why do I want to go green?

2. How green do I want to be?

3. How will going green impact my desktop publishing business?

4. Are there some parts of my business that just cannot be “greened”?

5. Can my business withstand the initial investment in going green?

Going green in desktop publishing can start with the simplest of changes, such as switching the type of paper you use, or changing the ink you use to a vegetable-based option. But if you want to go green all the way, including certifying your DTP business as a green company, you do have some decisions to make first. Depending upon your answers to the questions posed above, you may be ready to take the first steps. But bear in mind, while going green may make for good marketing for your small business it will also require you to make potentially substantial changes to your business plan. This is why the primary question to ask yourself is why you want to make this change—going green will involve more than just improving your image by getting on board with a growing trend.

In Part 2 in this series, we’ll walk you through changes you can make to your desktop publishing business to go green, and in Part 3, we’ll show you how to certify your business as a green company. Stay tuned.

Thanks to StartUpNation for the inspiration.