Printer Friendly Format or a Paper-Less Society?

When the Internet -- and especially the World Wide Web, was "invented" people started to talk about how we would use less paper and perhaps not waste as many trees. (Huh, you didn't know that paper was made from trees?)

It has become the opposite -- we waste much more paper these days because we think we need to print everything we see on the computer screen. (It is interesting how many students don't want to read the course textbook, but say they want to print out every word they see on the WWW.)

I assume you clicked on the link to this page because you thought you would get a "printer friendly format" of a page on Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice that you were reading. Well, go back to the page, it is already printer friendly. If you don't want the page layout, and all the graphics(often ads having nothing to do with what you are reading)don't print from the browser window! Do this instead:

Select the whole page (highlight the page) with the mouse.
Copy the selection (select COPY with the mouse).
Open a word processor.
Paste the selection (select PASTE with the mouse) into a word processing document (usually, depending on the word processor and the settings only the text will be pasted).
If you wish (to reduce paper waste) format the text by reducing the size and/or changing the font type. (You may also want to change the margins, line spacing, and if the word processor was set to include pictures decide if you want them printed or not.)
Print the word processing document. Eureka! You saved paper, because this method reduces the number of pages used significantly, compared to printing from the browser window.

However, do you really need to print the page? Do you really need to print everything you see on the screen? Perhaps you don't know that you can change the text size on the screen to adjust it for your eyes? Are you a "trekki" (Star Trek Fan)? How often have we observed Captain Picard reading engineering reports or classic novels on his small handheld computer (an iBook?).

To adjust the text size:

Select the VIEW menu with the mouse.
Select text size.
Adjust the text size, up or down (graphics will remain the same size).

The strength of the Internet, among many things, is that it is dynamic(changing). You should have noticed the following comment on some of the class documents on this web site, as e.g., for the Semester Calendar:

The calendar may be changed due to unforeseen circumstances to meet the needs of a particular class. The instructor therefore reserves the right to alter (add, delete, or revise) any items of the above, online or via verbal instructions in class. The student is responsible for taking note of any such changes and acting accordingly.

For permanent documentation the dynamic nature of the Internet can also be a weakness, and making fraud easier, but with good inventions usually also comes bad sides, which we have to learn to live with...

So, let's save some trees. Be conservative with your printing, and if you decide you must print use a word processor to reduce the paper waste! Excellent!

Dr. Nilsson

BACK