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What's a draft no one should dodge?

03.16.2009

Submitted by tmeronek on Sun, 03/15/2009 - 11:00pm.
The Bite:
The one on your printer. Unless you're printing something superimportant, save ink and paper by using Draft Mode and, if you can, printing double-sided. Who could conscientiously object to that?
The Benefits: 
  • Enlisting less waste. Each year, the world's discarded cartridges, stacked end-to-end, could circle the planet three times.
  • Pacifying your budget. No rocket science here: If you print double-sided, you'll buy half as much paper, and if you print 100 pages in Draft Mode instead of regular mode, you'll save as much as $2 on ink.
  • Quick release. In a PC World test, a typical inkjet printed 12 ppm (pages per minute) in regular mode but cranked out 36 ppm in Draft.
Personally Speaking: 
You print maybe 20 pages on the SF Biter office printer, and an annoying pop-up appears on your screen saying it's time to buy more ink. In Draft Mode it's more like 40. But still.
Wanna Try: 
  • Set your printer (or print software) to Draft and Double-sided.

  • InkSaver - software that lets you control the amount of ink your printer uses, helping you save up to 75% of your ink. Windows-only ($35).
  • GreenPrint - software that weeds out pages you don't want to print. For Mac or Windows (free for Windows, $29 for Mac). 
  • Ecofont - a free typeface for Mac or PC that's designed to use as little ink as possible but is still totally readable.
 

Cocktail Fact

In 2003, the UK's Evening Standard found that an average ink cartridge costs 7 times more by volume than vintage Dom Perignon champagne.

Bang For The Bite

If 10,000 Biters print most documents in Draft Mode, we'll use 20,000 fewer ink cartridges per year.

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Valerie  on July 22, 2009 at 01:46 PM 11
In addition to conserving ink, try recycling your ink cartridges. Did you know that in 2008, InkCycle, an industry leader in toner and inkjet print cartridge technology, recycled, re purposed or converted nearly 394 tons of materials from ending up in landfills or other waste avenues!? Go to www.grenk.com/blog to learn more Watch video on landfill E-waste: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2977312/company_announces_ink_cartridge_re...
Marie  on August 11, 2009 at 01:13 PM 12
Great post! 2 sites worth mentioning to save money and the environment. Use compatible printer cartridges for every day printing. In addition I recommend you get a free piece of software from www.printgreener.com. This is a great news for saving printer ink and paper. Thanks for the post.
bjgp  on August 17, 2009 at 07:38 PM 13
i will definitely use the greenprint download!! i also have learned that i can take out the cartridge that is supposedly getting low and tap it on a hard surface several times, reinsert it, and get an amazing amount of pages. there is always a lot of printing left to be done even when it looks like you are out. a good thing to keep in mind in case of emergency. i have an hp printer but also used to do this on a copier in an office years ago. could easily work with other brands [use caution on first try!!].
Crystal  on August 28, 2009 at 09:45 AM 14
wow.. very nice info at this post thanks!!! i really like it
mark  on August 28, 2009 at 09:46 AM 15
intereting info at this post thanks! i really like it Spa Treatments
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