Simple but brilliant: Ecofont for ink conservation

It might not be appropriate for every printing job, but a new, free-to-download typeface called “Ecofont” could cut your ink use by up to 20 percent in some cases, according to its designers.

Created by SPRANQ, a Netherlands-based marketing and communications firm, Ecofont is a sans serif font that incorporates tiny holes within each letter. As SPRANQ puts it, “After the Dutch holey cheese, there now is a Dutch font with holes as well.”

“We tried lots of possible ink-saving-options,” states the Ecofont Website. “From extra thin letters to letters with outlines only. We have omitted various shapes: dashes, squares, triangles and even asterisks. In the end the circle was choosen as the best candidate for the job.”

SPRANQ says the typeface works best for 9- and 10-point font sizes and will not be followed with a serif version because “serif letters use more ink.” It adds that it doesn’t intend to make Ecofont a profit center (though donations are welcome : ) )– simply a freely available option for the ink-saving-minded.

You can download the Ecofont here. As for other ways to conserve ink? Duh, SPRANQ says: print less and choose the printer quality option “low.”