I have had an annoying pet peeve with computers and printers for as long as I can remember.  Why is it that when you print a web page there is invariably one page that prints out with only a few lines of print on an otherwise blank page?  Then there is the web page that is loaded with ads…who needs to print those? Or how about when you want to print out an email for the file and it prints page after page of the email thread going back to the dark ages when all you wanted was the latest reply?

In the past I have copied the page and pasted what I want into a Word document and edited it there before printing, but that is a time consuming, tedious task.  Wouldn’t it be great if there was program that would intercept my print jobs and allow me to remove the unwanted material before I print?  Well, wouldn’t it be even better if that program was free?  And wouldn’t it be really great if it kept tally of how much ink and paper I saved by using the program so I could keep track of how “green” I was?

That is exactly what GreenPrint from www.PrintGreener.com does! (Windows only) Here is screen shot of their web page:

If you go there, you can download the program and install it on your computer.  As you install it, the software asks to become your default printer, and then allows you to select a physical printer (the one you use now).  It intercepts all the print jobs that you send to the printer.

It then analyzes the job and will suggest what you might like to print versus what it thinks that you won’t want to print.

You can also manually choose what to print in case you don’t like what the program thinks is right.

Your original document is not harmed in any way, but you end up with printed copy of only what you want.

One little side advantage of this program is that you can choose to print to PDF instead of to a paper and ink printer, so if you have this, you don’t need any other PDF converter!

It will also print to PDF and open up an email automatically so you can send the PDF off to someone else.

I did tell you that this was free, but if the spirit moves you, you can buy the paid version which adds a few more bells and whistles. The range of pricing allows for you to buy a CD or to also buy a special font that allows you to type more in less space, thereby saving even more paper and ink.  This little chart gives you the breakdown.

Take the next step in the greening of your business and give this a shot and let me know what you think about it.