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Print job clearing house

Saves paper and ink
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It has been suggested to overprint printed documents with white ink, so that the paper may be reused [link].

This is a far simpler approach that saves both paper and ink.

Unneeded documents are sent to a central storage facility. When you attempt to print a new document, your printer queries the facility's mainframe. If the document is available (a "cache hit", as it were), your printer aborts the print job and the facility mails you the document.

the porpoise, Jun 23 2014

White color ink printer White_20color_20ink_20printer
Only saves paper; not ink! [the porpoise, Jun 23 2014]

[link]






       While I personally try not to print much, and support efforts to reduce paper waste, the thing to keep in mind is that one of the primary reasons that people print documents is so that they can take notes on the hard copy. Whether they keep the document or just benefit in recollection because they took notes, when they are don't with the document, it is likely that the next person will want a clean copy.   

       So you'll need to enhance your system to scan all the pages and reprint any pages with notes on them before mailing it out. Of course the other issue is that the recipient probably doesn't want to wait for the mail.   

       I think the way to make hard copies obsolete is to make the electronic viewing experience better than the paper one.
scad mientist, Jun 23 2014
  

       Might work with signage. Metal street signs.   

       Right turn, left turn, do not feed the bears, main street, free bikes, and other short phrases are likely to be needed by random folks in random places.   

       Full length book texts much less likely to be needed.
popbottle, Jun 23 2014
  

       If people reduced their font sizes by 1pt, trees sufficient to cover Wales 220 times over would be saved every year.   

       Given the desirability of covering Wales to a depth of 220 trees, I think this warrants further consideration.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 23 2014
  
      
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