Thursday, March 6, 2008

Mean Mister Mustard

Paper costs money. So does toner, fusers, and other equipment needed to print paper. At a time when we are all trying to be a little bit greener, it makes sense to do what you can to reduce the amount of paper you use. Some suggestions:
  • Print two-sided. This is the default in many of the labs, and cuts paper use considerably.
  • Think before printing. Is the document really ready for printing? Give it another look to find errors that might make you need to print it again.
  • Print selected page. OK. There's an error on page four. Do you really need to print pages 1-3? Office lets you print selected pages simply by typing the page numbers in the print dialog box. It even understands commas and hyphens: 1, 3-4, 7 will print pages 1, 3, 4, and 7.
  • Choose Print Preview before printing out web pages. Web pages have the nasty habit of including an extra page is one line of irrelevant text. Your web browser has a print preview setting that lets you avoid printing out those pages.
  • Use Electrons, not trees. If you need to share a document with classments, do it electronically. You probably have an electronic version to begin with (via the web or your own work), so why do you need to print it out? E-mail it to your classmates, or use Blackboard the share it (contact your instructor to find out how).

If you work on reducing your paper consumption, there will be less waste and the campus will be a little bit greener.

Remember, even Mr. Mustard tried to save paper. So should you.

(If you have additional suggestions, put them in the comments of the blog.)