Recently, 14-year-old Suvir Mirchandani made headlines when he claimed that the US Federal and State governments could save almost $400 million per year by switching fonts from Times New Roman to Garamond. While others have claimed the savings would not be nearly as much, it makes one wonder how much money an individual or small business could save by switching fonts.
First, one of the flaws in Mirchandani's argument was that he only considers ink consumption. Garamond uses more space than other fonts, meaning that while ink consumption may decrease, paper consumption will increase, decreasing the savings. Mirchandani's savings would also assumes that every printout is using the government's default font and that every person will readily agree to switch to Garamond. Both are also unlikely.
However, even if the government could save $400 million, does that mean that the savings could be duplicated in your home? If you compare how many sheets of paper are printed by our governments each year to your own printer output, the savings would be minimal. Over the course of the year, you might save a few cents to a few dollars, but large savings would take decades to earn. If you don't mind switching, it might be worth it in the long run, but it is not going to be an effective cost-control measure.
No comments:
Post a Comment