One of my big pet peeves about working in an office — and it’s happened almost everywhere I’ve worked — is the big stack of paper that sits next to the printer. What’s in it? Directions printed to a party over the weekend. Or a 20-page article that someone was supposed to read but forgot to. Or a coupon for 20% off something at a local store. Or a sensitive HR document that the owner should’ve come to get but didn’t and it’s been sitting out with Social Security numbers, salary information and who knows what else where anyone can read it.

Like I said, I’ve seen this by almost every printer at nearly every company I’ve worked. I don’t get it. I might’ve done it myself, so perhaps I shouldn’t cast stones. But it’s not just a waste of paper, it’s a waste of electricity and (really expensive and toxic) toner. So much for the paperless office.

Printing only when you have to is an obvious answer to this problem. But there are other things you can do to mitigate the impact of your printing. One of them is a free program called GreenPrint that’s available now for Windows and, in beta, for Mac. It lets you choose what pages go to the printer and what doesn’t, and even automatically cuts out pages that don’t have anything on them.

Another option is to use an ecological font. Sounds weird? Yeah, maybe. A communications company based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, named SPRANQ came up with Eco Sans, a sans-serif font that has (you really have to look carefully) little tiny holes in each letter. The company claims it uses 20% less toner or ink than other fonts. I can’t verify that independently, but I can tell you that it’s free for you to download for Windows and Mac.

Printing less saves resources and cuts down on overhead. It’s just a good idea, no matter how you look at it. And when you do have to print, please recycle when you’re done with what you’ve printed.

5 Ways You Can Cut Your Electronic Environmental Impact:
No. 5: Buy Green
No. 4: Turn Stuff Off
No. 2: Convergence
No. 1: Recycle