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Analysis of Ink/Toner Savings of English and Thai Ecofonts for Sustainable Printing

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Listed:
  • Thanongsak Imjai

    (Center of Excellence in Sustainable Disaster Management, School of Engineering and Technology, Walailak University, Nakhonsithammarat 80161, Thailand)

  • Chirawat Wattanapanich

    (Center of Excellence in Sustainable Disaster Management, School of Engineering and Technology, Walailak University, Nakhonsithammarat 80161, Thailand)

  • Uhamard Madardam

    (Center of Excellence in Sustainable Disaster Management, School of Engineering and Technology, Walailak University, Nakhonsithammarat 80161, Thailand)

  • Reyes Garcia

    (School of Engineering, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK)

Abstract

The use of Ecofonts in printing can result in economic savings and lower environmental impact. However, most of the research on the use of Ecofonts focuses on Latin alphabets. Moreover, texts printed with Ecofonts can be perceived as being less legible than those printed with the original typefaces. This study (a) assesses toner use reductions in documents printed with English and Thai Ecofonts, and (b) studies the observers’ perception of texts printed either with Ecofonts or with original typefaces. To achieve this, black pixels were removed from 10 English and 13 Thai typefaces widely used in academia and other media. Visibility and legibility tests, as well as mass analyses tests, were then performed on texts printed with some such typefaces. Results from instrumental measurements and digital image analyses show that the use of Ecofonts reduces toner use of an inkjet printer by up to 28%. The study also proposes a new Ecofont typeface for the Thai language. Visual tests showed that the visual experience of text printed using this Thai Ecofont is satisfactory. Awareness of the benefits of using Ecofonts changes the users’ attitudes towards the printing quality of Ecofont. The removal of black pixels can lead to more sustainable printing, and this simple solution can be extended to other non-Latin languages as part of the global Green Information Technology efforts in South-East Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Thanongsak Imjai & Chirawat Wattanapanich & Uhamard Madardam & Reyes Garcia, 2021. "Analysis of Ink/Toner Savings of English and Thai Ecofonts for Sustainable Printing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:4070-:d:530902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chen, Xiaobin & Man, Yi & Zheng, Qifu & Hu, Yusha & Li, Jigeng & Hong, Mengna, 2019. "Industrial verification of energy saving for the single-tier cylinder based paper drying process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 261-272.
    2. Chunguang Bai & Joseph Sarkis, 2013. "Green information technology strategic justification and evaluation," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 831-847, November.
    3. Rogers, John Geoffrey & Cooper, Samuel J. & Norman, Jon B., 2018. "Uses of industrial energy benchmarking with reference to the pulp and paper industries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 23-37.
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