Printing with a Concern

I have blogged quite a lot about saving paper and printing if and only if it’s needed; but it’s never enough. Many people print emails and other documents even though the reading can be done off their computer monitors. My job and our job is to drill into the brains of these people that printing every sheet take away a part of natural resources off our environment.

Pete Savage, an IT professional has put down a process of thinking before printing. This applies to everyone, even the geeks.

- Is it a large job? - If it is, why not ask the user if they want to print it in draft quality instead of the default, which may be much higher. You may also like to inform them they will need extra paper for this.
- Is it a photo? - It’s not hard to distinguish a full sheet of photo from text. Questions could be asked about glossy paper, and maximum dpi = slower printing argument.
- The paper is A4, but the document is A3 - Is this what you want?

These questions are not comprehensive but a start for spreading awareness among printer users. The results will come sooner than expected if all of us could chip in by sowing the seed of concern for our environment.