How to Conserve Paper

Paper may not seem like a precious commodity when it is sold in stores, lined up in offices by the case, and strewn about your home and work desks. However, paper comes from trees, one of our dwindling natural resources. Stay conscious of the need to conserve paper and rethink some of your work or school printing practices.

Instructions

1. Use effective formats. When researching for school or work, don't print things from websites. Make a note of the site's address and information and move on. When you do print documents, use a smaller font and reduced margin sizes to conserve paper.

2. Cancel mistakes. Cancel any document sent to print in error. Some of the longer errors can be costly, and even the smaller 2- to 3-page errors can add up.

3. Preview your printing. Make sure that everything will come out as you want it to. This can reduce reprints due to formatting that is off or inconsistent.

4. Print double-sided documents. This is especially good for documents that you are using for presentations or meetings.

5. Store information electronically. Instead of printing everything to file in a cabinet, make folders on your desktop or PDA and save your information there. It will trim your clutter and conserve paper.

6. Save printing for final copies only. When a document needs more touch-ups or revisions, keep them on the computer. Print only when you have a final product. This is helpful for students who have 20 plus pages to turn in at the end of a semester.