The Spring term exam period is approaching. Are you considering printing all your notes for revision again? Hold on! Let’s reconsider this after reviewing our collective printing habits from the Fall term exam period.
Quick Guess: how much paper is printed during exam period?
The Library received the Printers Usage Summary from ITSO for last semester, highlighting the paper usage by the 4 satellite printers inside the Library. Some numbers are quite remarkable:
- More than 130,000 sheets of paper were used in December
- Usage in December was 1.5 times that of October (another busy printing month) and 3 times that of November
- Paper usage in our Library has almost DOUBLED with the implement of network printing in the Library
To put this in perspective, a 40 feet (12 m) tall and 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) in diameter tree makes 8333.3 sheets (calculated based on statistics from Conservatree Paper Company). Our paper usage in December is already a rough equivalent to 15.6 trees worth of paper!
Many students queuing for their prints have joked about “becoming a tree in the next life” (下世做樹), and while said in jest, this common quip reflects a shared awareness of our printing’s environmental footprint.
Thinking of reducing paper usage?
As satellite printers are convenient and offer limited free carbon count in an academic year, it is easy to print more than our actual needs. Here are some tips for you to reduce your paper usage:
- Think twice before you print
– do you really need a physical copy?
– can you print multiple pages on one side of paper? - Print double-sided: save both paper and your printing budget
- Preview before printing, and print 1 test copy before bulk printing
- Use unwanted printouts as draft paper, or put them into recycle bin next to the printer
Every little bit helps, and together, we can ensure that we’re not just studying hard but also studying smart—by protecting the planet.
June Or
Assistant Officer (Commons & Media Resources)
lbjune@ust.hk
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