Th*ink*ing Green

Posted by Cynical Sarah on April 9, 2010

Last time I bought ink for our printer, it wasn’t more than a few months and I started to get low-ink warnings every time I tried to print something. I knew it had to be some sort of error since I don’t actually use the printer very often, so I ignored it.

I’ve been ignoring it for probably four months now. I did buy a new cartridge a couple weeks ago because I needed to print some resumes, but I still haven’t actually put the new cartridge in. I figure, it’s not out until I actually get a page that looks like the ink is low instead of the computer telling me it’s low.

It makes me wonder if the first time I bought ink for this printer I actually threw out a half-full cartridge just because the computer told me to.

Is it a Dell conspiracy? My laptop and my printer are both Dell products. It wouldn’t surprise me if somehow they talk to each other and conspire against me to make me buy more special Dell ink cartridges.

Little do they know (unless they’re also smart enough to read what I’m typing now) that it’s more likely I’ll end up throwing out the printer next time rather than shelling out another $25+ for an ink cartridge.

It’s a bit embarrassing considering I do try to make efforts to be more green, but I think we’ve chosen to throw out two or three different printers when they ran out of ink. It was more cost effective to buy a new printer on sale than it was to purchase a new ink cartridge.

We chose a Dell printer the last time based on price of the machine and the cost of ink cartridges. I think it still costs more for the ink than we paid for the printer. I probably would have chosen to throw this one out as well and get a new one if Dell hadn’t started selling their ink cartridges through stores. I hated having to order ink online and wait for it to arrive.

Keeping the printer eases a bit of my environmental guilt from getting rid of a few just because they ran out of ink. Now maybe my economic guilt can be eased a bit with the news that the font you choose can help you save ink.

That’s both green for the environment and for the money in my wallet if I can use less ink but still do the same amount of printing.

It sounds like something insignificant, but according to a Dutch company that looked into it, simply switching from Ariel to Century Gothic font can save you $20 a year in ink. If you’re a school or a big business, that could translate to thousands of dollars in savings.

Don’t believe me, read the AP article for yourself – Here’s a legal way to print money: change the font.

According to the article, the best fonts to conserve inks are those listed with “light” in their names or serif font because they tend to be thinner and thus use less ink. However, you have to pay attention that you’re not extending the amount of pages needed to print your document or what you’re gaining in ink, you could be losing in paper.

It’s certainly a tip to keep in mind even if poor Dell may lose out on one less printer cartridge purchased by me. If it’s any consolation to them, I’m just about ready to print out the first draft of a novel, which will likely mean actually putting in that new ink cartridge I already bought.

It may even mean having to get a new cartridge after that one a lot sooner than normal.

Lucky Dell, not so lucky me … unless it just happens that draft turns into the most spectacular novels ever and makes me a ton of money.

One can always dream.

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Tags: environment, going green

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