Printing web pages can be very ink intensive when you’ve got a fancy page at hand. Yes, there are some basic measures you can take to save ink using selective printing- but here’s how you can automate the process!
Greenprint is an interesting piece of freeware that scans through whatever you want to print and helps to optimize the print layout. With just a few simple clicks you can eliminate extra pages, remove selected images, and just tweak it so that you’re not wasting paper and ink.
Here’s WSJ tech guru Walt Mosberg running through a quick review of the product so you can see it in action.
When it was first released it was paid software only, but now there is a 100% free version available for download, so not only will you be saving money from your pocket, but saving the environment as well.
Still not certain about optimizing your printing? Consider this:
- 1 ream (500 sheets) uses 6% of a tree (and those add up quickly)
- Global paper products consumption has tripled over the past three decades and is expected to grow by half again before 2010
- Production of 1 ton of copy paper uses 11,134 kWh (same amount of energy used by an avg household in 10 months)
- Making one single sheet of copy paper can use over 13oz. of water– more than a typical soda can.
- 4281 acres of rainforest are lost every hour worldwide
- If you filled an Olympic-size swimming pool with ink it would cost $5.9 billion
- A single mature tree can release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings
February 16th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I highlight what I want printed, then choose the Selection option from my printer properties. I’ve had 2 printers that had this option, and one that didn’t, but that was a while ago. I don’t know if all printers do this now. I also print front and back (manually, but it’s easy).
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 am
Firefox has addons that allow you to remove adds from pages (and I imagine rearrange things) I haven’t played much with it. I like your idea tho… Does this allow you to print in a certain colour only. If it does it it also saves your colour ink or to use only the colour of your choice.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:58 am
OOops I was focusing on the saving trees aspect hehe Why the need for such high cpu (I’m speaking for those who don’t have the need for ‘new’ bells and whistle). Saving trees isn’t much good if you are phased out by a landfill because you need to replace a puter that has been phased out to save trees that get cut down to put in a landfill hehe