Our job — and added value — is to provide our clients with an all-inclusive printing service. Our constant aim is to take our clients from quote request to delivery with 'zero-worries'.

For greater insight into natura print, a causing change journalist asked Séverine Carlier a few questions:

How broad a range of printing services does natura print offer?

Séverine:  We have a wide range of presses ranging from high speed digital presses to multi-color sheet presses and a high-speed one color press for large report or book runs. I'd love to tell you about each of the presses, maybe I'll do that later...

How does natura print define quality service?

Séverine:  I define quality of service as zero worries. Basically, you want to give your files to a printer knowing that she (or he) will take the time to check them, send them to press, validate the run on press, follow up on all the binding and ultimately deliver the job on time looking better than you expected. That’s what the client wants, and that’s what I want.

I want to add the ‘natura’ component to my answer as well. I think, I hope, that clients come to us because we are first and foremost a great printer that offers great prices. But they also come to us because we are a green printer. They therefore expect that we are able to deliver output that is anchored in respect for the environment, or as we say: 'great and green'.

So, to fully answer your question, I believe that our commitment to quality is worry free, affordable printing that is certified green.

Who do you work for?

Séverine: As with other companies, we only work for the public interest sector, for United Nations organizations, civil society and governments. When natura print joined messaggio, we asked ourselves the question: should we, as do our sister companies otjiwarongo consulting and messaggio studios, work exclusively for the public interest sector? We decided that the primary goal for natura print was to save trees, save water and otherwise print with a green commitment. As such, if we could change the attitude and expectations of private companies we would be benefitting us all. So we kept working with the private sector for a couple of years. But ultimately we realized that the group's strength lay with the public interest sector and so we made the decision, which we do not regret, to stop working the companies.

We have some great clients! We are really proud to work for some of the busiest organizations in the world as well as the most engaged grassroots organizations. This is what makes me feel proud every morning. To think that I oversee the printing of documents for the World AIDS Campaign, the World Health Organization or the United Nations Environment Programme or hundreds of other UN agencies, ngos and governments that do good, makes me and the rest of the staff feel great.

Is natura print affordable or is it priced beyond UN or civil society means?

Séverine:  Like I said, the UN, civil society and governments are our only clients, for good reason, our prices are highly competitive. Granted, we are not always the cheapest, there is still quite a bit of competition out there, but we are always competitive. When we lose a bid, it’s usually by a couple of percentage points, not more. When the difference is greater, I can usually trace the difference to some quality aspect. The other printer might be using a less expensive, but not certified, paper. The inks are not always the same quality. Or the labour is not treated fairly. I don't want to use the cliché, but often you do get what you pay for.

As a ‘green’ printing brokerage, is natura print ‘green’ itself?

All mondofragilis group companies are proud supporters and members of The UN Global Compact. We encourage all to do so.

Séverine:  Being green is our company goal, it would be hypocritical if we didn’t practice what we preach. We, like all messaggio, are a member of the United Nations Global Compact so we try to be as pro-environmental as possible and naturally we care about working conditions. Our facilities are 14001 certified and every member of the natura print team has a ‘green’ attitude - we try to keep the facilities and offices running as ecologically as possible. It’s not always easy though, and we are always striving to do more to maintain and improve our ‘green’ practices.

How does a printing company succeed in a global market?

Séverine:  First of all let us be clear, we avoid printing in our European facilities and shipping overseas. It simply does not make sense to us. Some day we hope to have facilities in America and Africa, but until then, when we print for overseas delivery we do so through affiliated companies or agents. We make an exception when we are printing for a truly global mailing in which case it does make sense to print and mail from a single central location.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Séverine:  About me? Those who know me know that it’s difficult to talk about me; natura print is about ‘us’. But yes, I do have a story of my own, not surprisingly I've spent the past fifteen years in many roles. Before heading natura print I worked on the presses, I developed film the old fashion way, made plates, prepared files. My background is printing, not sales, not marketing, not management, I love the output itself and I’m proud of that.

Any closing words?

Séverine:  I would just like to urge anyone thinking about printing for their organisation, to think about the impact of that printing, and to contact natura print for a quote to see how easy it is to fulfil all those printing needs with a clear conscience!

A FEW MORE DETAILS ABOUT NATURA PRINT...

Our service can, and should, begin with advice. Our consultants advise clients on the best green options: recycled? FSC? PEFC? Going green is not as simple as it may sound.

Next, we provide a highly efficient quote system. Do you need a quick quote on a straightforward product? With messaggio's online quote interface — MAMA — it's simple and fast. Beyond quotes, our service includes complete print project control. Every step of the process is monitored and reported on by a flow manager. You will know exactly where your job is and when you can expect to receive it. And when it comes to printing the actual document, our print managers are there to ensure every job matches the client's expectations.

natura print's print portfolio is vast allowing us to offer high quality sheet-fed printing as well as quick turnaround digital printing and high-run newsprint output. We also sell a wide range of promotional and informational tools including exhibit stands of all sizes and shapes, promotional and fundraising items and digital media duplication services on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray.

Of course, natura print offers and manages all printing-associated services such as personalised printing, drop shipments, list management and postal mailing.

Added values

• Environmentally-friendly papers
  • The widest selection of recycled papers
  • The use of FSC - Forest Stewardship Council - certified papers
  • The use of PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification - certified papers
• Vegetable inks with results that surpass petroleum–based inks
• Lamination on solventless machines
• The guarantee that our facilities use approved green practices including the highest recycling standards
• A staffing philosophy that is socially–responsible including gender balance and worker–friendly conditions

Team

natura print's management is dedicated to printing. Séverine Carlier, who heads the natura print team, is herself a seasoned press person having started, literally, on the presses.

Séverine is seconded by a support staff that handle all aspects of the printing process from file management right through to delivery.

Papers & Inks

We are committed to using papers and inks that are ranked highest in their respect of the environment. In the case of papers, we offer, in this order:

1. Fully recycled post-consumption stock
2. FSC and PEFC stock made from managed forests or or mill surplus
3. Paper types that are unavailable as recycled or managed-forest papers

We are committed to using inks that come from vegetable sources, such as rapeweed. All our inks are, therefore, biodegradable. We do not use petroleum–based inks.

Facility practices

One can increasingly avoid polluting products. It comes down to choosing suppliers that choose non-polluting products and apply green policies. And if a supplier does not adhere to these standards, it is up to the client or intermediary to tell them so or risk losing ones business. This is our approach. If someone sends us a parcel that is wrapped in non–biodegradable plastic, we tell them.

Here are some of our practices:

• Any products that can be recycled, are recycled.
• We use rags and clean them. We do not use disposable, paper towels.
• We recycle our ink.
• We recycle our empty ink boxes.
• We recycle our printing plates.
• We manage our electricity consumption.
• We engage in due diligence of suppliers to ensure they meet our own strict standards.

Products used for production:

• Our inks are 100% vegetable-based. We use no petroleum–based inks.
• Our machines are cleaned with V60 products that are far less polluting than VM111.
• When we need glue, we use liquid glue instead of spray glue.

Our upcoming improvements:

• 100% use of recycled packing materials (including wrapping sheets)
• 100% use of fair trade materials and products

Decent work

Our staff is our strength. If they are not committed to the highest standards of excellence, there is no way that we can produce high quality output. We know this. natura print pays its staff fair wages. We give them proper medical benefits. And, we aim to build a pleasurable work environment.