Save On Ink, Lose On Paper
Dinesh Ramde of the Associated Press reported yesterday that Printer.com, an independent Dutch printer comparison company, has discovered a new way to reduce printing costs: Change your print settings to Century Gothic font. Century Gothic utilizes thinner lines than other popular fonts (such as Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana) and thus requires significantly less ink over the long term than thicker fonts.
According to Ramde, Diane Blohowiak, Coordinator of Information Technology for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, believes that urging computer users at her university to print using Century Gothic will cut down on yearly printing costs by between $5,000 and $10,000.
Critics of this discovery point out that, while Century Gothic may use less ink because it is a thinner font, it is also wider. Because wider fonts fit fewer words per page, using Century Gothic in lieu of a narrower font could ultimately lead to more paper consumption.
As readers of Pays to Live Green know, the best way to save money on ink and paper is by going paperless. When printing is absolutely necessary, consider the following basic ink-, paper-, and money-saving tips:
- Print on the reverse side of old, unnecessary paper that was only printed on one side. Consider giving one-sided junk mail new life by keeping a stack of it near the printer for easy use.
- Print double-sided.
- Better yet, print two or more pages on one side and then print double-sided.
- Print in greyscale to save on color ink.
- Print a lighter, less-ink version in “draft” mode.
- Utilize other green printing techniques.
Comments
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April 12th, 2010Trackback from : Friday Green Links – 4/15 « Pragmatic Environmentalism
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April 12th, 2010Trackback from : All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Ninety Seven » Focus Organic.com
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April 12th, 2010Trackback from : All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Ninety Seven
I had heard about this somewhere else, but I didn’t realize the extra paper consumption. I guess it’s cheaper to use extra paper instead of extra ink. Perhaps someone needs to come up with a green font which uses thin lines without being too wide.
I’m an American currently teaching in Vietnam, and my students are so resourceful when it comes to re-using paper. Not only do the print on both sids, but they also will cut and bind paper only used on one side to create small notebooks!
@madeline people in developing countries are always resourceful and innovative because they are low on resources.
Perhaps maybe increasing the margins from 1″ to 0.75″ all around? This will allow for more text to be printed on one page.