Our Green Statement

 AT DAUPHINE PRESS, we delight in every detail of creating beautiful and memorable letterpress invitations and stationery in a sustainable manner. We do everything on premises, from design to printing to lining envelopes. Whether you select an invitation from the pages of our invitation Portfolios in stores across the country or from the pages of our website, your letterpress invitation from Dauphine Press will be as gorgeous as it is green.

 ACT LOCALLY Dauphine Press is proud to be recognized for our environmental leadership through the Bay Area Green Business Program. In 2008, we went through an extensive evaluation and certification process involving every aspect of our operations from our light fixtures to our landscaping, from our supply chain to our staff kitchen. We comply and surpass all California state environmental regulations which are the most stringent in the country and we are regularly monitored through site visits and reporting to ensure that we are maintaining our green standards.

 OUR PAPER Our house paper is Lettra which we favor for several reasons:

• it is 100% pure cotton
• it is beautiful yet strong
• it prints superbly
• it is made in America
• it is sustainable and archival
• it comes in three shades and two weights
• it has matching 100% cotton envelopes in umpteen sizes

 GORGEOUS & GREEN No new cotton has been grown to make Lettra paper. The fluffy part of the cotton plant is used to make fabric; the seed in the center is used to make cottonseed oil; and the linters, the "lovely leftovers" between these processes, are used to make paper. So, the cotton is 100% recovered, a by-product of the textile industry. The paper is 100% tree-free, and the result is 100% wonderful. Cotton is a far more sustainable source for paper than wood or bamboo. Cotton is an annual crop, requiring fewer natural resources to grow, and consuming much less energy and resources to make into paper than fibers processed from densely fibrous trees or bamboo. Cotton linters are leftovers that would otherwise be discarded as landfill - but instead of going to waste, they are made into the beautiful, tactile paper that is the canvas for all of our stunning designs. Cotton paper is also recyclable as any other type of paper. Learn more about Crane's longstanding green practices and papers here.

 TWICE-LOVED PAPERS We also work with our clients to specify 100% PCW (Post-Consumer Waste) recycled papers for many of our commercial printing projects. Our eco-chic line of greeting cards in partnership with Madison Park Greetings is a perfect example.

 INKS Our clients are often surprised to find out that a typical invitation order uses about a teaspoon of ink. Our rubber-based inks are rich and opaque and contain approximately 30% vegetable oil with very low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). In our experience, soy inks are too transparent to print properly and the crisp quality of our printing is compromised by soy inks which are too thin. Soy inks were developed for newer printing technologies which require a thinner consistency. We clean the ink off our presses with California Wash, a low-VOC solvent. Used solvents are disposed of through a licensed environmental waste company.

 VINTAGE EQUIPMENT, MODERN SENSIBILITIES The tactile appeal of letterpress is greater than ever - especially on our luscious eco-papers. Our presses are vintage - they are all a bit older than we are, rescued from various print shops in Northern California. These presses were built to last, and are enjoying their second career. Letterpress printing is inherently eco-friendly, using no water and few consumable supplies.

 REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE has been at the core of our business since our inception in 1999. It's simply a way of life for us in Northern California. Our papers are costly because of their quality, materials and craftsmanship. We are all keenly aware of the value of a single sheet of paper and and we simply don't waste it. Our pressmen are efficient in setting up our presses to minimize paper spoilage so your invitations order will have as small a footprint as possible. We tightly manage our raw materials and we monitor our energy use wisely. We reuse papers that are large enough to fit back through the press and we recycle what can't be reused or donated. Local schools create masterpieces on the fine paper scraps we donate and several of our clients request that their jobs print on offcuts, our own "lovely leftovers."

 GOOD ENERGY Dauphine Press offsets 100% of its carbon footprint with offsets from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Carbon offsets are an investment in clean, renewable energy. When clean energy is produced and fed into the power gird system, the use of dirty, non-renewable resources is diminished. Clean wind and solar energy make for less carbon dioxide pollution in our atmosphere. This not only supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and development of renewable energy, but also long-term watershed restoration projects and renewable energy education for students and communities nationwide. This not only covers our Petaluma studio, but also takes into account our air and auto travel.

 GOOD NEIGHBORS Dauphine Press is situated on the shores of Shollenberger Park, a breathtaking 165-acre wetlands recreation area with miles of trails in Petaluma, California. Our neighbors include over 200 captivating species of birds and wildlife.