by Tara Joyce | Jul 16, 2008 | Innerpreneurship
As business owners committed to making a difference, it only makes sense to ensure your business processes are sustainable. A simple way to reduce your environmental impact is to use certified recycled paper and to print using only waterless printers.
Waterless Printing Defined
Waterless printing is a method of offset printing which is less environmentally damaging than conventional lithographic printing. Waterless printing takes advantage of modern technology to eliminate chemicals and water altogether.
Why traditional printing is bad for the environment
Traditionally, printing is a huge consumer of resources, including chemicals, water and energy. Waterless printing does not use dampening solutions, which contain alcohols or petroleum-based solvents. Such solutions contain more than 60% volatile organic compounds, which contribute to smog. A waterless press eliminates the need for up to 100,000 litres of water and 10,000 litres of alcohol per year consumed by a typical mid-size printer.
Pros of Waterless Printing
- better for the environment in that it removes the use of water and chemicals from printing
- higher degree of color consistency and color saturation and better detail
- produce more in less time; it saves you and your printer time
- recycled papers performed better on a waterless press than they do on a wet lithographic press
- less paper waste from the printing process
Cons of Waterless Printing
- it may cost more; this depends on the printer used
- printers using waterless printing are harder to find
The fact is, there really isn’t any reason why we shouldn’t all be using waterless printing. It is more a matter of lack of awareness than anything else. As this process grows in popularity, I’m sure we will be finding more printers cropping up.
by Tara Joyce | Jul 16, 2008 | My Journey | What's On My Mind
I’ve been populating this blog for about 3 weeks now and I there is still so much more to be done. It is exciting to be in this stage of my business, to just be starting but it is also scary and overwhelming. My vision for Elastic Mind and this blog becomes clearer and clearer every day but as the vision grows so do the ideas. And as the ideas grow so does the To Do list. There is so much I want to do that I wonder if I will ever have time for it all.
Staying focused
The problem with me is that I am my own harshest critic. Nothing I ever produce professionally is every good enough for me. Even now, as I build this blog, I have it hidden so the public can’t see. When I finally make it available you can bet that I will think it’s crap, regardless of its true value. This may be the oxymoron that is me. I am believe in myself deeply but at the same time I am a perfectionist and never think my work is good enough. How can I balance the two and stay focused?
Things to Remember
There are a few things I remind myself of whenever the pressure I put on myself to get Elastic Mind launched (and yes, I am the ONLY one putting pressure on myself):
- The journey is the best part. Stop worrying about getting there. I’ll be there soon enough.
- There’s no rush. I work on Elastic Mind (I am including this blog under the heading of Elastic Mind) for at least seven hours a day. I’m doing all I can.
- It’ll all work out. If I believe what I preach then following my passion will lead me to the success I desire.
There is, of course, doubt, that wolf in sheep’s clothing, that wanders into the room every once in a while and gets me down too. To beat him, I remind myself that I don’t have to succeed at this, that the point of it all is just to try. Again, it’s the journey! Never forget that.
by Tara Joyce | Jul 10, 2008 | My Journey | What's On My Mind
I dislike FaceBook
Being someone who works in online marketing and whose job is to stay on top of internet trends, you’d think that I would love social media and all that it has to offer. In reality, I have less of an interest in using it than the average person my age (I am the ripe old age of 26). Now that I think of it, it isn’t all social media that I snicker at, it is social networking sites. FaceBook is my prime enemy.
I love some social media
I see the value in writing a blog (both for your own personal development and that of your business), using eBay to purchase items on the cheap, storing your bookmarks on Delicious and uploading your pictures to Flickr (though I don’t have an account). My issue is socializing for socializing’s sake. Even in high school, when you are at your greatest capabilities for idle chatter, I shied away from it. Granted, I am now realizing that I am a bit of an anomaly. I am much less social, in the traditional sense, than most people. I am a classic introvert. I’d rather be in my head or speaking with one other person than participate in anything group related.
The Big Plung
But with the creation of Elastic Mind and this blog, I am wondering if there is value in me becoming more social. It isn’t my natural inclination by any means but it could be good for business. For once, I’m not going to do what I want, I’m going to do what is expected. I’ve signed myself up for Digg, StumbleUpon and updated my LinkedIn profile. I’m drawing the line at FaceBook and MySpace.
I’m going to write an overview of the major social networking sites and the value (or lack thereof) that I see in them. It should be interesting.
