I'm sure there are plenty of folks out there who just like me, generate a lot of documentation in their line of work, and in the process of coming up with the version they intend to use officially, they create a lot of draft copies to ensure the formatting and content are appropriate.
In the past, I use to print out my final draft only to find out that text I intended to be bold, wasn't or that pictures I inserted in my document did not appear as layed out in the doc, or just did not print out. There were font issues, layout issues, formatting issues, content issues, so in the end a 30 page document was generated after an entire ream of paper was sacrificed.
WYSIWYG in Word 2007 does a great job to help out with the layout of the information, and by using either Microsoft's XPS printer driver, or Adobe's PDF printer driver, I can now create documents that show me what my printed page will look like. Large wide screen monitors (i.e. 24" at least) have also helped that process by allowing 2 page layout of documents so it's now possible to clearly see what the document looks like at 100% of its size, but for some reviewing documents on a monitor is hard.
The problem lies in the fact that in order to review data on a computer screen, one has to lean into the document and that can be hard on the body. Reviewing a printed page allows one to lean back in their seat during this process, or even lay on their back, lay the document on a table while looking down at it, but most importantly, it allows that document to move along with them as they might need to catch a flight, a train ride, attend a meeting, etc...
The tablet does the same thing a printed page does, and even offers other advantages over it such as integrated review tools (i.e. virtual highlighters, virtual ink, document routing), and (we're back to the original topic) cutting down on paper, ink/toner, electricity, and printer maintenance. I could even suggest that it could cut down on the cost of industrial espionage as the discarded draft copies would not require to be shredded, nor would they find their way in a recycling bin only to be pulled from the recycling pile by an astute spy of a competitor.
Hey!! What is this? Oh wow!! an iPad...
Can the Right Font Save You Money?
Believe it or not, a font switch can be a real money saver. Doc was intrigued by this recent post from my fellow ZDNet bloggers over at the “Between the Lines” blog, which reveals how making a simple switch from 11-point Arial font to 10-point Century Gothic font can lead to some significant savings. You see Century Gothic is a lighter weight font by about 30%, than Arial. The theory, then, is that less font equals less ink. Check out the post for details on other fonts for the frugal.
Pondering this lead Doc to a commercial software product called Ecofont, which accomplishes the same goal by automatically putting “Swiss cheese-like holes” in your standard fonts. This, the company claims, saves on ink and toner but doesn’t affect legibility.
Doc’s as much for saving money and materials as the next guy, but can font choice or poking holes in your fonts really have a significant impact on your spending? Well, if you’re big enough, then it’s bound to add up. But Doc has some caveats.
First, make sure the font you choose is not only thinner in line weight, but narrower in design, as well. Fonts that are wider in design tend to run to more lines, which could trigger documents to jump to an unnecessary new page.
And while it is tough on the eyes, switching to a smaller font size might actually have a bigger impact than font design itself. Ideally a thinner, condensed font at the smallest readable size, is the best choice.
This all makes Doc laugh a little. Back in the days when fonts were made of metal, smaller sizes cost less than larger ones. Maybe we haven’t come as far as we think!
Best solution? Print fewer emails!
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ZDNet introduces Doc (The DocuMentor), sponsored by RICOH. Through his blog, Doc will educate you about Document Management. So who is Doc? Doc is something of an enigma. He was born to a Russian ballerina and a German electrical engineer who some believe was running covert operations for shadowy corporate interests. Doc grew up in various locations in the United States, although no one seems to know precisely where, least of all Doc. His early schooling was unremarkable except for the time he was caught trying to replace all the mimeograph machines with high-tech color copiers that had mysteriously disappeared from a shipment to Albania. At MIT, he made a name for himself by transforming a large printer into a robot that hunts and eats Roombas. Professionally, he reportedly has seen the insides of more brands, versions, and generations of printer and printer-related hardware than almost anyone. Some say his obsession with paper, printing, and mechanical movement was either started by, or evidenced by, a traumatic childhood episode when he crawled inside an old Xerox 2400 and tried to print himself.
Anyway, Doc has hands on experience with stuff like printer maintenance and fleet management, but his mastery of document management leaves no stone unturned. Important issues like sustainability, security, and regulatory compliance are top of mind for Doc, as are other business technology needs like networking and IT services, making him a true blue IT renaissance man.
Just In
I couldn't find an appropriate font, since I only have 127 installed.
But I found another solution that seems to work, I just delete every
other character. and i never use capitals or p n t a i n m r s
I just hope the "researchers" at the U of Wis don't expect to get too
many more grants for this kind of "study." [rolleyes]
But I found another solution that seems to work, I just delete every
other character. and i never use capitals or p n t a i n m r s
I just hope the "researchers" at the U of Wis don't expect to get too
many more grants for this kind of "study." [rolleyes]
"WYSIWYG" WOW! You can do that on a Windows PC now? What a
concept! Ooh, but you still need special "drivers" to do a PDF?! What's
that all about? Been doing that for more than 10+ years (actually
much longer than that...), right in the OS! Oh well, some refuse to
accept progress, I guess. LOL!
BTW, note that no trees died to send these electrons! Well, not
counting the ones that died millions of years ago... :-P
concept! Ooh, but you still need special "drivers" to do a PDF?! What's
that all about? Been doing that for more than 10+ years (actually
much longer than that...), right in the OS! Oh well, some refuse to
accept progress, I guess. LOL!
BTW, note that no trees died to send these electrons! Well, not
counting the ones that died millions of years ago... :-P
Yes, indeed.
But you do not need a condensed font.
For example, one fine font has been designed by Weidemann on the one hand with the obligation to run as narrow as possible and good printability on thin paper in order to save paper and printing cost - but on the other hand preserving high-quality typography: ITC Weidemann, formerly known as Biblica, viz. the client was the ecumenical bible committee in Germany. So, if you have high-circulation publications, think about it.
The font is very nice, indeed.
But you do not need a condensed font.
For example, one fine font has been designed by Weidemann on the one hand with the obligation to run as narrow as possible and good printability on thin paper in order to save paper and printing cost - but on the other hand preserving high-quality typography: ITC Weidemann, formerly known as Biblica, viz. the client was the ecumenical bible committee in Germany. So, if you have high-circulation publications, think about it.
The font is very nice, indeed.
The specific detail which stuck in my mind was the assertion that printer ink has an effective price of $10,000 per gallon. So using a font which requires 30% less ink seems like a no-brainer, particularly in an institutional or commercial setting.
Here's a solution:
Stop printing stuff.
With laptops, netbooks, smartphones, and iPads and tablet
PCs, why print anything out at all?
I almost never print anything.
Stop printing stuff.
With laptops, netbooks, smartphones, and iPads and tablet
PCs, why print anything out at all?
I almost never print anything.
Someone needs to invent a printer driver add-on that detects when all the little **** at the end of a printout is going to make you use one more sheet of paper that has only a couple of lines of type you don't care about in the first place.
The best tool that will save you money, is to use a printer driver that allows you to eliminate pages whose printing is not needed; Better softwares for creating documents which will save both paper and ink and that allows a true WYSIWYG work will certainly help avoiding the printed document to go directly to the dustbin.
Also use preprinted forms or papers with your organization logo and prepare document templates with good tools. Review the data that really needs to be present in the most widely used forms. Make sure that your reports allow data to be very selective, without forcing you to print unnecessary long lists. In most cases, you can get the data displayed in a single screen, without having to look for the information on paper : better data modeling for your databases can really help avoiding most prints.
Consider also online tools that are now more cost effective (notably for managing emails). Develop your extranet so that customers and providers don't need to work with forms printed by you.
But suggesting that documents be printed in small fonts is certainly not a good solutions for your customers. Readibility of documents is a must and is part of your company image, and printed documents that are difficult to read will cause them not being read by your employees, so these prints will just be wasted: consider investing in better screens with high resolution, so that your employees will adapt the font sizes and presentation to their preferences to ease their work: in that case they won't even need to print those documents.
And finally study the cost of prints per page with your printer provider : all of them shoudl be able to compute accurate measures. Mke sure you negociate an option that will allow you to adapt your service to your effective printing needs, and that the provider is recycling your consumable inks.
Tweaks like fonts with holes id probably not the solution if you are creating documents for your commercial communications.
And depending on volume, consider that printing documents your self is not the best solution, when an external printer will be able to produce the documents with a higher quality and for a less expensive cost. Externalizing as most prints as you can (except secret business documents) is very cost-effective, notably for ad campaigns.
Also use preprinted forms or papers with your organization logo and prepare document templates with good tools. Review the data that really needs to be present in the most widely used forms. Make sure that your reports allow data to be very selective, without forcing you to print unnecessary long lists. In most cases, you can get the data displayed in a single screen, without having to look for the information on paper : better data modeling for your databases can really help avoiding most prints.
Consider also online tools that are now more cost effective (notably for managing emails). Develop your extranet so that customers and providers don't need to work with forms printed by you.
But suggesting that documents be printed in small fonts is certainly not a good solutions for your customers. Readibility of documents is a must and is part of your company image, and printed documents that are difficult to read will cause them not being read by your employees, so these prints will just be wasted: consider investing in better screens with high resolution, so that your employees will adapt the font sizes and presentation to their preferences to ease their work: in that case they won't even need to print those documents.
And finally study the cost of prints per page with your printer provider : all of them shoudl be able to compute accurate measures. Mke sure you negociate an option that will allow you to adapt your service to your effective printing needs, and that the provider is recycling your consumable inks.
Tweaks like fonts with holes id probably not the solution if you are creating documents for your commercial communications.
And depending on volume, consider that printing documents your self is not the best solution, when an external printer will be able to produce the documents with a higher quality and for a less expensive cost. Externalizing as most prints as you can (except secret business documents) is very cost-effective, notably for ad campaigns.
Thanks for the comments, even the cynical ones, and the various suggestions for what might make for better print drivers. Doc thinks the swiss-cheese font idea is a little silly, but hey, whatever works. And I love the idea of using a condensed typeface to cut down on paper (and ink). But one poster probably said it best: stop printing so much!
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