The most important negative impact that printed magazines have, and the most obvious impact is that printed magazines destroys trees. Why? Because most magazines DO NOT USE 100% recycled paper.

Why companies don’t use 100% recycled paper?

• How the paper is printed
• Budgetary
• Aesthetic

Per example, Bucknell Magazine decided to use 40% recycled paper and their cost has increased to $5,000 per issue. If every magazine used only 10% recycled paper for their magazines, many trees would be saved. It’s very difficult for printed magazines to use less paper when magazines are made of paper.

90% of the magazines are not in recycling are in the landfill where they decompose and release methane and CO2

Other negative impact is the Inks. Inks may include solvents, which will produce VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).

What is VOCs?

According to the EPA VOCs are:

“Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands.”

Some examples are:

• Paints and lacquers
• Paint strippers
• Cleaning supplies
• Pesticides
• Building materials and furnishings
• Office equipment such as copiers and printers
• Correction fluids and carbonless copy paper
• Graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives
• Permanent markers
• Photographic solutions

VOCs creates pollution and contribute to the greenhouse effect.

What’s the greenhouse effect? How it works?

The sun’s radiation travels through space to our planet Earth. When this energy hits the Earth, the Earth turn reflects that energy back toward the sun. But the Earth has an atmosphere that is surrounded by gases. So these gases trap some of the outgoing energy and keep it in, warming our planet.

(Greenhouse Effect. windows2universe. google.com. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/greenhouse_effect_gases.html.)

Printed Magazines also use a large amount of electricity like digital magazines.

They used electricity when:

• Do the Image plates
• Run a large press that prints thousands of copies
• Make the digital file of the magazine
• Transports he material
• But most electricity is used in the process of creating paper.

Also, electricity is used at the moment in which the editors of the magazine plan how to create, design and organize the next issue of the magazine.