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Going Digital Isn’t Always the Greenest Choice

Earth Day is a tough time to work at a publishing company.  You don’t even want to know how much paper we go through to keep over 1200 plays and 200 books in print for thousands of customers annually!  Sure, we do everything we can to minimize waste and recycle as much as possible, but sadly, it’s still a lot of trees.

Because of this, you’d think we’d be cheering every time a customer opts for digital materials instead of paper, either through our Get It Now!  program or by ordering distribution copies.  But surprisingly, we’re not.  Going digital usually isn’t the greenest choice.

Of course, if you’re going to have your actors work from digital copies on a tablet or phone, then yes, that’s a very environmentally-friendly option!  But most directors don’t like this alternative because it’s so much harder for actors to mark their beats, add in their blocking notes, etc.  No matter how digitized our world is becoming, there are some circumstances where paper just can’t be beat, and that includes play scripts.

You probably don’t realize that when you make scripts from our printable PDFs, it takes at least TWICE AS MUCH PAPER as when we send you scripts.  Why?  The easiest way to explain this is by using an actual example of a full length script that has 64 pages, including title page, cast of characters, production notes, etc.  If you make the script yourself from the PDF we send you, even if you make it double-sided, you can only get two script pages on each sheet of paper, meaning it will take 32 sheets of paper for each script.  Now think about the saddle-stitched scripts you get from Pioneer Drama.  Each sheet of paper has four script pages, meaning it only takes 16 sheets of paper per script, not including the cover.  That’s 16 fewer sheets of paper per script, and for our example, let’s say you need 25 scripts.  That means it takes 400 extra sheets of paper — almost a whole ream more — for you to make scripts for your cast compared to ordering them from us!

Some directors ask each cast member to print their own script.  Sure, it saves you using paper, but believe it or not, this option wastes even more paper overall since not all people have the ability to print two-sided.

So why don’t we send you the PDF laid out as we print it, with four script pages per sheet of paper?  The challenge with this is that you then have no choice but to saddle stitch it, and very few people have a stapler that can reach in 5½ inches!

Re-Using Scripts IS Environmentally Friendly

Besides using paper as wisely as we can, Pioneer Drama is friendly to the environment by allowing you to re-use your scripts for productions in future years.  We love it when directors tell us they saved their set of scripts from five years ago, so they just need to arrange performance rights for their new production.

Wishing you could be more green with your play scripts?  Organize a Script Swap to save both trees and money!  Often held at a theatre conference with lots of directors, participants can exchange one production set of scripts they’ve already used for a different show.  Just make sure that every set of scripts is labeled as to which organization originally purchased the scripts.  As long as a director has this information, Pioneer Drama will allow them to set up performance rights without purchasing new scripts!