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Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

From Arial to Century Gothic: A font switch can be a moneysaver

By | April 7, 2010, 2:15pm PDT

Summary: Printing costs can drop with something as easy as a font switch.

Here’s something interesting to ponder on a humpday afternoon: Does anyone ever really give much thought to the font that’s being used on the screen?

Oh sure, some fonts are more visually appealing than others but is there any real benefit of using one font over another - a financial benefit, that is? Apparently there is - and for companies with dozens of printers spitting out hundreds or thousands of pages per day, switching to another font could impact the bottom line.

Some tests by printer.com, via a post on CNET’s Digital Media blog, found that the use of the 10-point Century Gothic font is 31 percent cheaper than using the default 11-point Arial font.

I kid you not, these tests were conducted and results calculated to come up with these conclusions. From the CNET post:

On a dollar basis, the company projected that the average person printing around 25 pages a week would save $20 a year by using Century Gothic for all documents. A business or heavy-duty user printing 250 pages per week would save around $80 for the year. And large companies with multiple printers could potentially save hundreds of dollars a year.

But what if you don’t like the look of Century Gothic? There are alternatives, including the popular Times Roman. Here’s a cost-savings comparison chart via Printer.com:

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Sam has been a technology and business blogger for more than 18 years.

Disclosure

Sam Diaz

Sam Diaz has nothing to disclose.

Biography

Sam Diaz

Sam has been a technology and business blogger, reporter and editor at ZDNet, the Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News and Fresno Bee for more than 18 years. He's a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a graduate of California State University, Fresno.

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cheaper printing
squall123 10th May 2010
Good tip, thx for sharing
Compared to change printing font, I think to ues non-OEM cartridges can save you much more money easily.
and it is very easy to find a cartridge web shop by googling it. there are a lot of web shops,like www.cartridges.com, offer great products and execellent services.
0 Votes
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Not so fast Sam. But I like it that you spread the word. People should become more focused on being conservative as it comes to our environment.
0 Votes
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Is it really worth it?
rahbm Updated - 8th Apr 2010
A saving of $80 per year sounds significant, but I'll bet that if you
specified the saving as a percentage of the total ink or toner
costs, then the saving would appear insignificant. Also, the benefits
would probably be outweighed by the support costs and issues
involved. For instance, as soon as you start moving MS Office docs
from one PC to another they will screw up if the relevant typefaces are
not on the new machine. So your point really applies most to people
creating docs and then printing them from the same machine, which
tends to be the case in the SOHO market where the savings would be
insignificant.

OTOH, please feel free to use clear and readable type!

BTW: Century Gothic, Courier, Arial, Garamond etc are not
fonts, they are typefaces.
When you go to Offce Depot and spend $80 to re-ink your $100 printer, you'll appreciate saving money on printer ink.

The printers use the Gillette philosophy... give away the razors, make money on the blades. Get your blades, or ink cartridges, cheaper and you'll save money (and time spent getting new cartridges) in the long run.

It's your choice. Save $80 or don't.
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Only if it's legible!
Dave@... 8th Apr 2010
If you are switching fonts to save money, just be aware that the smaller point sizes and some fonts will cause your readers to ignore the text!
It may also slow their ability to scan the text quickly. That is the reason for serif over sans-serif fonts. Is it really worth trying to save a few dollars and lose your readership in the bargain?
Taking the time to select "draft" mode can significantly cut down on ink consumption - and the difference is hardly noticeable. Make it your default, if the printer software allows it. Some printers dump colored ink into black text, to give "richer" blacks. I'm willing to bet you don't care, unless you're running off professional-quality photos.

The really big lesson is, buy a laser printer. The higher upfront cost will be recovered pretty quickly if you do a lot of printing.
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cheaper printing
squall123 10th May 2010
Good tip, thx for sharing
Compared to change printing font, I think to ues non-OEM cartridges can save you much more money easily.
and it is very easy to find a cartridge web shop by googling it. there are a lot of web shops,like www.cartridges.com, offer great products and execellent services.

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