UK Company Invents Font to Save Ink and Toner

According to Business Green, UK stationery company Ryman has recently introduced a new font, the Ryman Eco font, which uses a third less ink and toner than standard fonts. The company claims this font can help cut the costs of printing and reduce 6.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

The new font was developed under a partnership of creative agency Grey London and Ryman Chairman Theo Paphitis. It consists of dozens of tiny thin lines and curves separated by white space. Business Green says it looks like a normal font at point sizes between 10 and 14 due to the way our eyes and brains fill in missing areas. The company reveals that even at larger sizes the font remains “elegant and readable” when printed.

The Ryman Eco font has already been implemented across its network in 96 countries. Hoping more companies and households will use it, Grey London is making it available for free.

Ryman notes if everyone used the font, it would save over 490 million ink cartridges and nearly 15 million barrels of oil, equivalent to 6.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

Paphitis stated, “At Ryman we love print – But we don’t like what it does to the planet. Recycling alone isn’t doing enough. So I am asking individuals and businesses, especially those who use print a lot in their day-to-day operations, to download Ryman Eco for free and make it their default print font. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do but could make a world of difference.”