What GreenPrint does

GreenPrint targets the waste pages that too often result when employees print out web pages, e-mail, spread sheets and other documents. On e-mails, typical culprits are lengthy address headers or multiple replies. On web printouts, it can be banners, footnote info, or image-intensive pages that consume extra reams of paper and costly toner. The software’s insistent “Print Preview” prompts users to delete unnecessary pages, images, or text. Pages with less than five lines of text are automatically deselected. The program displays a running tally of how many pages have been saved, in dollars and cents. Statistics on total pages, trees and greenhouse gas saved are also displayed. At the University level, project directors Diane Blohowiak and Helen Alexander of Computing and Information Technology are for the first time easily able to track printer usage. The first four weeks of GreenPrint implementation showed:

• 155,171 total pages printed
• 19, 975 pages “saved” (an 11.4 percent reduction)
• $1,196 in estimated print cost savings
• The equivalent of 2.2 trees saved and 14,300 pounds of carbon dioxide saved