Ecofont Program Review

There are several software programs (such as Ecofont and Dimples) on the market that claim to reduce the environmental and economic impact of printing documents and images. These programs achieve their savings by putting small holes into the characters, which reduces the ink usage. Some of the programs also come with additional cost saving features, such as being able to print without images or in gray scale. 

I finally had some time to sit down and test the ink savings of Ecofont Home Edition. The company’s website claims that the software program can save up to 50% on ink when printing by converting fonts into Ecofont, printing images in gray scale or removing images from printed documents. 

The program can convert Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Trebuchet MS, and Verdana. I used these fonts on the same document that I used when testing standard Word fonts. The results are below.

The ink usages of Ecofonts compared to standard fonts.

Details: 

To find the total page coverage, APFill was used with a default paper size of 300dpi.

If you would like to see the standard page that was used, please contact me.

Using the test document, there was on average a 30% ink savings when using the Ecofont program. It is interesting that Garamond, a Microsoft default font, performed slightly better than Ecofont Times New Roman. This difference is explained by the difference in character size and does not reflect negativity on the Ecofont program. I was also initially a skeptic on the print quality of Ecofont, but it was surprisingly readable on the screen and on printed documents.  A screen capture of Ecofont Times New Roman 11pt.

The program also comes with other features that help with ink savings, including the ability to print in gray scale, to print selected text, and to print documents without images. While these features are located on one easy to use menu, they are not unique to Ecofont. These settings can be accessed for free in Microsoft Word by changing Printer Properties or Word Options. 

The savings options menu for the Ecofont program.

Overall, I was impressed with the Ecofont program. I really liked how it converted the fonts during the printing process, which made it easier to type a document without being distracted by the hazy characters. The program is also great because it puts many ink saving features into one convenient place. However, I cannot recommend that individuals purchase the program at its current price. Since many of the ink saving features are already a part of Microsoft Word or your printer preferences and there are free fonts that have similar ink savings, it does not seem like wise $24.95 investment for an individual. I would be interested in seeing what savings could be seen in large organizations, since there are often greater restrictions on what fonts can be used for business communications. 

Comparing Apples, Oranges, and Fonts: How Changing Your Default Font Can Save You Money

In 2009, Printer.com posted a blog article titled Printing Cost: Does Font Choice Make a Difference?. In the article, the author explained how individuals and corporations could save nearly 31% by switching their default font from Arial to Century Gothic. Organizations and people listened to this news, including the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and NPR. Even in June of 2012, websites and blogs continue to mention the economic and environmental impact that using Century Gothic can have.


What if this is not necessarily true today? 


Since the comparison was done, Calibri 11pt font has become the default for Microsoft Office products instead of Arial or Times New Roman. Interestingly enough, Microsoft switched the default font to Calibri from Times New Roman because they felt it was easier to read on a digital device. This switch initially aggravated some users, but today has become the new norm to home and office users.


After searching many blogs and websites, I was unable to find an updated ink usage comparison. Since it is the summer time and I have a bit of free time, I decided to do my own. 

This charts compares the ink usage of several fonts.

Details:

To find the total page coverage, APFill was used with a default paper size of 300dpi.

If you would like to see the standard page that was used, please contact me.

My results have indicated that switching from Calibri 11pt to Garamond 12pt can reduce ink usage by 27%. In addition, users who are currently using Century Gothic 10pt can switch to Garamond 12pt to reduce ink consumption by 19% and paper consumption, since Century Gothic's larger characters require more page space.

Organizations, specifically universities, could save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by switching the default font on their network to Microsoft Office. I do not have a strong network administration background, but it seems that an information technology department could setup a script that could change the normal.dot (Default Settings in Microsoft Word) file to Garamond each time a user logs on to the network. This would probably upset some users initially, but  the change would slowly become the norm like Calibri.

You may be curious as to why Garamond, Century Gothic, and Times New Roman out perform Ecofont Sans Vera. This is where comparing apples to oranges comes into play. Not all fonts are created equal. It is incorrect to believe that Ecofont Sans Vera is going to outperform fonts that are not similar. When Ecofont is compared to the font that it is based off of, Verdana, it does reduce ink use by 21%. Since the Printer.com post was written in 2009, Ecofont has released a program that will turn other standard fonts into "ecofonts". I emailed the company about this article and they were willing to give me a free home version of the software. I plan on testing it over the weekend and having a review of the program out next week. 

What are your thoughts? Does this change seem feasible in your organization?

Johnson County Community College Sustainability

I recently went on a tour of Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. The tour was led by staff members from the Center for Sustainability. I am very impressed at the community college system in Kansas, which seems to greatly differ from what I grew up with in Arizona. Here are some photographs of things I saw on the tour.

This is the large rain garden that helps filter the runoff from the numerous parking lots on campus. JCCC is a commuter school, which means that there is plenty of black asphalt surrounding the campus. I'm still not use to rain gardens, since they were infrequently used in Arizona. This garden was built with a combination of federal stimulus grants and funding from the campus sustainability fee. Students must pay a $1 per credit hour fee at JCCC, which raised nearly $400,000 in revenue a year for sustainability projects.

This is a sculpture on campus that was made by students from old tires. I think it is really interesting how art can be used to showcase sustainability in public spaces. 

This is an idea that I had discussed with some colleagues at AASHE 2011, but was unable to pursue at Arizona State University. JCCC has repurposed filing cabinets into special collection bins for electronic waste. Since many universities have a surplus of filing cabinets, this could be an affordable way to expand a special collections program. According to the staff at JCCC, the retrofit only took a few hours of labor.

Be sure to check out the album below for pictures of the campus farm and other sustainability features at Johnson County Community College.

Campus Sustainability Tour Using Google Maps

Google Maps has made it easier for users to create custom maps. I have recently started volunteering at the University of Kansas Center for Sustainability and noticed that the map on the website had not been updated in a while. I also noticed when I was on campus interviewing that the map is made with Adobe Flash, which makes it inaccessible to those of us with Apple products.

I really like using Google Maps because it allows users to write descriptions for highlighted features, makes obtaining directions a breeze for people viewing the map, and gives users a glimpse of the location with the Street View function. The one downside that I have noticed is that Street View for the KU campus has not been updated since 2007 at some campus locations.


View KU Campus Sustainability Tour in a larger map


If you have created an online sustainability tour map on your campus, please post the link in the comments.

Using Lyrics to Promote Recycling

I decided to rewrite some popular song lyrics to promote recycling at New Student Orientation. The printed posters have the recycling departments logo and web address.

Have any of you used pop culture or music to promote sustainability on your campus?

If you would like the Publisher files for these posters, please leave me a comment.

Combining Eco-Reps with Resident Assistants

I recently read the blog post Eco-Reps: Changing Dorms, Changing Norms from the University of Arkansas Campus Sustainability office. Andrea, the posts author, explores the possibility of incorporating the responsibilities of Eco-Reps into the jobs of Resident Assistants within the residence halls. There are several potential problems with this idea.

• Successful Eco-Rep programs are a great way to get freshman or transfer residents engaged in the campus community. Leadership roles are limited to freshman students and we should provide them ample opportunities to get involved so that the can find their niche on campus. That being said, if a university department cannot dedicate time or resources to an Eco-Rep program, then incorporating sustainability into the job duties of student leaders living in the halls is a good idea if it is supported by the administration within a residential life department.

• As someone who has worked and lived in the halls for 3 years, the job responsibilities of an RA are not easy. From late night duty calls to the stress associated with living where you work, student leaders in the halls put in a lot of hours every week.  If a university were to add on an additional set of responsibilities to the position without an increase in compensation or adjustment of duties, many student leaders could view sustainability as one of the many things that falls under "all other duties as assigned". We do not want bitter or upset student leaders educating their peers on sustainability, since this could negatively impact the campus views and culture towards sustainability. Instead, we want those who are passionate about energy conservation, social equity, and many of the other topics that fall under sustainability. 

• It is critical that sustainability education be incorporated into the training of student leaders so that they are well versed in the sustainability initiatives on a college campus. Such a presentation should be engaging and allow for questions from the audience, since many student leaders may not know what sustainability truly is. Student sustainability groups or university departments could also compile bulletin boards and educational materials promoting energy conservation, recycling, or other topics for student leaders to use. Student leaders working in the residence halls will be grateful for the prepared bulletin board and you can be assured that the messaging is consistent across campus.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone gave an educational presentation on sustainability to student leaders?