Green Options » printer

RITI Printer Uses Coffee Grounds for Ink

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:31:39 +0000

Coffee grounds are beginning to seem like quite the multi-purpose substance. First we heard about the possibility of grounds being used as biodiesel, and now we’ve received word that the world’s first printer to use coffee grounds for ink is a contestant in Core 77 and Inhabitat’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition.

Crafty Business Cards from Baltimore Center for Design

Kelly Rand — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:37:18 +0000

Here’s another great example of good design, craftiness and a nod to the environment, all in a small card.

The Baltimore Center for Design has a utilitarian goal, one that will bring together the city’s designers for the purpose of discussion, and to provide community members a valuable resource. As an up and comer, the Center for Design is all volunteer run, with little to no budget. Though this is a challenge it has not stopped them from moving foward with all the things that a resource like this needs, all with an environmental bent.

Their business cards are made from the extra runs that a print shop uses to get their press set. These test sheets usually end up as waste, but not in this instance. Working with their local printer they were able to source these test prints for free!

To personalize the cards, the Center for Design used label paper and printed up their url and attached the labels to the cards. The result is a simple and easy way to make buisness cards.

New Free Font “Ecofont” Reduces Ink in Printing by 20%

Amiel Blajchman — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:31:23 +0000

SPRANQ creative communications has developed a new font that is good for the environment, designed to reduce the amount of printer ink used by up to 20%.

How did SPRANQ accomplish this? By developing a font style that looks a bit like you are writing with swiss cheese!

Tip o’ the Day: Don’t Press That Button!

Rebecca Carter — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 12:49:40 +0000

Today we're going to ask you to think twice, or even thrice before clicking that little print button. When you see a good Tip o' the Day, is your first instinct to print it so that you can look at it later? And when later comes, just how long do you look at that paper before you toss it, file it, or start doodling on it?

There are very few things in this life that we need to print, and they are: contracts that require an original signature and airline / travel e-tickets. Yes, that's all we can come up with. Really!

What about driving directions? If you decide to write it on paper, instead of storing it into your PDA, we guarantee it will take up just a tiny corner of scrap paper. How does it get there? Here's the old-school part: you jot down by hand.

Plus, you'll find that the moment you stop printing, your life will suddenly become more paperless. This leads to a simplified life, and we all like that! So go on, pretend that printer is broken and see how it feels to be liberated! The trees win, energy conservation wins, and your wallet wins (never buy toner again).

Rebecca says: I used to be a printaholic. Emails, maps, tips, recipes and articles. Then the best thing happened to me (for many reasons): I met my husband. He taught me to ease up on the printing drastically. Then another blessing happened, my printer stopped printing. That was almost two years ago. You'd be amazed what you don't need to print once your printer breaks (or you pretend it did).