Today at The Golden Pencil, blogger Anne Wayman has a problem:
I hate how much paper I use, even though I buy paper that’s got as much recycled paper in it I can find. And I make sure to recycle every scrap of paper I use.
Have you found a way to use less paper?
Anne talks about how, as an editor, she can’t seem to spot as many typos and other problems by looking at a computer screen. So, she prints out he projects and uses a red pen…which means that she goes through a lot of paper.
Sometimes, we have to print. That’s just all there is to it. However, I have a few suggestions for Anne and anyone out there also using a lot of paper:
~ Print on both sides. I know it may seem obvious but since printers are set up to automatically print on just one side, most of use forgot to change the settings. There’s an easy fix - save whatever one-sided documents you’ve printed and use a red pen to “x-out” the used side so there’s no confusion as to which side you’re working on.
~ Print on old junk mail. You’ll find that a lot of the mail you get is only printed on one side. Save it and print on the back. Again, you may want to mark up the side you aren’t working on to lessen the chance of confusion.
~ Change your computer screen settings. The brain things in funny ways. Sometimes changing the settings is all you need to be able to concentrate on work without printing. Tone down the brightness, use Clear Type, and consider Irlen Colored Overlays. Tools to help you read on-screen can help you print less often.
What do you do to conserve paper?
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