Think Before You Print!

You can help reduce paper use at our Health System

One of the most important and easiest ways you can keep UMHS green on a daily basis is by reducing your paper usage.

According to the “Business Guide to Paper Reduction”, the average American office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year.

Not only does printing on paper impact our environment, it also costs our Health System through use of ink/toner, hauling and disposal costs, obsolete forms and postage required to send documents.

Last year our Health System spent more than $800,000 on paper. Although the annual amount UMHS spends on paper has reduced by more than 10 percent in the last two years, we still have room to improve.

You can help! Did you know printing on both sides of the paper will reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by 5.5 pounds for every pound of paper used?

Here are some ways you can help create a paper-light environment at our Health System

Set printers to automatically print two-sided (duplex print)
Print more words on each page by changing the default set-up (e.g. narrow margins or a different font)
Proof documents on screen and preview before printing
Make double-sided copies and forms whenever possible
Copy two pages or multiple slides onto one side of paper
Create DIY electronic letterhead and forms rather than using stock
Distribute documents in electronic forms versus hardcopies
Use a projector in meetings instead of handouts
Make documents available for print on demand from a central resources (such as a website) versus mass distribution of printed copies

So the next the time you need to edit a document, send a letter, or provide a presentation to colleagues at an upcoming meeting, remember: Think Before You Print!

MCIT has developed a series of resources to help improve the efficiency of your printing. Reference the below instructions on how to: