Posted on 03/28/2014 5:37:46 PM PDT by mandaladon
Fourteen-year-old Suvir Mirchandani found a way to save the federal and state governments almost $400 million from their yearly budgets just by changing the typeface they use on handouts. The best choice? Garamond!
Mirchandani’s school was looking for ways to save money, but he noticed no one was paying attention to the ink used on its many handouts. He noticed that Hewlett-Packard printer ink is $75 an ounce, while an equivalent amount of French perfume is only $38.
Here is how he came to the conclusion that Garamond is the best choice:
Collecting random samples of teachers' handouts, Suvir concentrated on the most commonly used characters (e, t, a, o and r).
First, he charted how often each character was used in four different typefaces: Garamond, Times New Roman, Century Gothic and Comic Sans. Then he measured how much ink was used for each letter, using a commercial tool called APFill® Ink Coverage Software.
Next he enlarged the letters, printed them and cut them out on cardstock paper to weigh them to verify his findings. He did three trials for each letter, graphing the ink usage for each font.
From this analysis, Suvir figured out that by using Garamond with its thinner strokes, his school district could reduce its ink consumption by 24%, and in turn save as much as $21,000 annually.
He then used the data to project how much the government, both at the federal and state levels, could save via the switch.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
This young man needs an IRS audit.
Again, I seldom print much, but the knock-offs have worked well for me --- albeit, when I first installed them the software in my HP printer gave me warnings up the kazoo about not using their overpriced ink. ;~))
If you’re needing to communicate while traveling, especially if you’re not always in a populated, developed area, a cell phone is more than a convenience, it’s a necessity. I’ve done away with the land line and the cable, can get what I want and need from internet and cell phone. Doing away with the cell phone, well, I just can’t see that working for me or for too many others, to be honest. Internet would need to be nearly universally accessible, even in fairly remote locations. That means internet via cell signal. The speed of internet via cell signal is not all that great. I use it in a pinch on the phone. At home it doesn’t cut it. So, I have both.
Thanks, I will give them a try.
It wasn’t a necessity before people started taking it for granted. You probably don’t want to know how I feel about cars. :-)
I notice at restaurant today they kept one receipt and gave me two.
“...figgered a savings of a few hundred K by using both sides of paper.”
Here’s a story from when I worked for city government in So. Cal. My girlfriend worked in the Mayor’s Office, and she was staff support for the City Council. When items were submitted for inclusion in the weekly Council packets, they usually were double sided. My friend’s supervisor made her run them through the copier, changing them from two-sided to single-sided.
She did it, reluctantly, but didn’t say much as her supervisor was a witch. Finally, she said it was stupid and a waste of money. Boss told her the Council members might not think to look at the other side. My friend asked her, “Do they read books?” Friend was written up for insubordination.
I think some cars can be quite beautiful, rolling sculpture really, but with a very practical use. Modern society as we know it would be impossible without them. Are we too dependent collectively? I suppose there are more efficient means of transporting people en masse. Like cattle cars. I don’t relish the prospect. Individual mobility and the ability to cover long distances in a short period of time, at will, are something that I and most people value greatly and will not give up willingly.
You forgot their SWAT budget !
I have a better idea: stop printing stupid handouts.
With telepresence, there will be a lot less need to move people around physically. Car sharing is the front of a wave.
Don’t forget the mandates.
Ditto!
Quick story...wife and I visited Sacramento once while Arnold was Gov and they were in one of their “budget battles” where they “couldn’t possibly cut anymore” because it was already “to the bone”.
We entered the capital building and saw over 50 different pamphlets printed in every language you could imagine.
Then we entered the elevator to go to the 2nd floor exhibits (only three floors in this old place) and they had, get this, elevator OPERATORS! Paid at that.
I looked at her and said, “so, they really can’t find anywhere to cut the budget?”
I have long thought Garamond was a a more elegant font than Times New Roman in print. However, for web use a sans serif font like Tahoma is a more readable choice.
I use a VOIP phone, haven’t had a land line for years, if there is any difference I would say the VOIP is superior to the old land line I used to have. I also do a part time job that involves twenty or more hours a week using a “softphone” VOIP system. It gives a little more trouble than my own personal VOIP phone but all in all it is reliable and seems to be becoming better and better as time goes by.
The first time I tried VOIP many years ago it was awful, simply absurd in its total lack of reliability but if you haven’t tried it recently you might be surprised.
“Too bad nobody taught him that the government has no interest in saving money.”
Laser printers use toner, not ink. However toner is still a consumable and the less used the more money saved.
Going to a more economical toner can still save money.
Will FR be able to save money moving over to Garamond?
What’s the best font in your opinion?
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