Sustainable Printing

I have to think that with the introduction of and ensuing addiction to the internet, we as a society have actually started to print in a more frivolous way.  How many times have we printed that email from Aunt Sally with the funny joke to tack up on our fridge?  How many extra pages of paper printed at the same time due to the extra ads, urls and paragraph upon paragraph of forwarded email addresses at the top & bottom of the message?  How many times did we need to reprint that message because it ended up split between two sheets, got cut off on the sides because of funky margins or some other weird internet-to-printer setting?  Well, GreenPrint is trying to change all that.

GreenPrint has designed software that automatically analyzes the pages set to print from the internet.  Before being sent to the printer, a preview will allow you to view the pages exactly how they will print and eliminate the ones that would be considered waste.  The image below is a screenshot in which GreenPrint has designated the pages on the right and left as being waste due to the minimal amount of content.  You then have the choice to print or not print those pages.

Another cost-saving option with GreenPrint is that you can delete images from your pages before printing, saving time and reducing the ink used.  Sure Aunt Sally’s joke is funny, but do you really need that huge ad or banner claiming to make you thousands of dollars in your first month of using the advertised product/service?  Most of the time, these annoying eye sores are clipped away with scissors anyway, so why print them in the first place?

How many times do we print from the internet simply because there’s no easy way to save a decent looking file from a web page?  Well, no more!  GreenPrint also comes with a pdf writer that allows easy conversion of your internet pages or documents to an easily read and easily saved pdf file.  Now you can save what you want right to your computer without having to print at all!

Currently, GreenPrint World Edition is free for download and use with all the features I have discussed.  There are also upgraded versions for both home and office use that can be purchased.  One of the greatest features in the Enterprise Edition (for offices) is that your network administrator can designate certain printers and/or paper trays as “recycled”, which would have “waste” paper loaded (scrap paper that has printing on one side already).  This means that if you are printing from GreenPrint and select the “recycle” button in the preview, your prints will automatically be sent to the designated printer/tray to be printed on the blank side of the scrap paper.  This is a great way to save paper that would normally have been wasted (or hopefully, recycled) by giving it a second chance to be utilized.

I encourage you to look into this software to make your home or office print responsibly.  There are many other benefits to GreenPrint’s products that I haven’t even touched on.  If you do end up getting a version and put it to use, post a comment about your experience and let me know how you like it!  Until next time…

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