Free print-cost calculator · no sign-up
Find out how much your office could save on printing
Enter your team size and print volume. PrintWise estimates your yearly ink, paper and printer costs, then shows what a lighter font, smaller type, tighter line spacing and double-sided printing would save.
- Results update as you type
- Defaults from EPA & GSA figures
- Runs entirely in your browser
Your printing profile
Tell us about your organisation.
Cost per page (edit to match your own quotes)
Defaults based on published data (EPA, GSA): ~10,000 pages/employee/year, $0.02 ink/page (mono laser), $0.006 paper/page, $0.004 maintenance/page.
Optimise your documents
We've pre-filled an eco-friendly setup. Change any setting and the estimate updates instantly.
Word defaults · Calibri 11 pt
Your settings
Why typographic choices matter
Some typefaces use far less ink
Typefaces differ in how much toner their strokes lay down. The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay switched its default font to Century Gothic to reduce toner use, and eco-designed fonts such as Ryman Eco go further: its makers say it uses up to 33% less ink than standard fonts.
Every point matters
Ink scales with the area of each letter. Going from 11 pt to 10 pt shrinks every glyph by about 17% in area, and fits more text on each line and page.
Tighter spacing, fewer pages
Reducing line spacing from 1.15 to 1.0 cuts page count by ~13%. Combined with duplex printing, you can halve your paper consumption — saving money and trees.
Put your savings into practice
The estimate only turns into money once your defaults change. Each step takes about a minute per computer.
Set the default font
- In Word, open Home › Font (the small arrow in the Font group).
- Choose your typeface and size.
- Click Set As Default › All documents based on the Normal template.
Tighten line spacing
- Open Home › Paragraph settings.
- Under Line spacing, pick Single or Multiple with your value.
- Click Set As Default and apply it to the Normal template.
Make duplex the default
- Open your operating system's printer settings.
- Open Printing preferences for each office printer.
- Turn on Print on both sides and save. Many managed printers can enforce this centrally.
Ryman Eco is a free font from Ryman; install it on each computer before making it the default. Fonts that are not installed will be substituted when printing.
Methodology
A transparent, simplified model. Every figure is an estimate you can adjust.
| Cost | How it's estimated |
|---|---|
| Pages printed | Employees × pages per employee per year (a working year is taken as 250 days or 12 months). With your settings, page count scales with font size ÷ 11 × line spacing ÷ 1.15. |
| Ink & toner | Pages at Word defaults × cost per page × the typeface's relative ink use × (font size ÷ 11)², because ink follows letter area. Line spacing and duplex don't change the amount of ink. |
| Paper | Sheets × paper cost per sheet. Duplex halves sheets. |
| Hardware & maintenance | Printed pages × maintenance cost per page. |
| Baseline | Word's long-standing defaults: Calibri 11 pt, 1.15 line spacing, single-sided. |
- Relative ink use per typeface is an indicative estimate (Arial = 100%). Real toner use depends on your printer, toner and documents.
- Page savings assume text reflows. Short documents that already fit on one page won't shrink, so treat paper savings as an upper bound.
- Environmental figures use common rules of thumb: about 8,333 sheets per tree and about 5 g of CO₂ per sheet.
- Other currencies use approximate fixed exchange rates. Edit the cost per page to match your own quotes.
Sources: EPA (2016), US GSA SmartPrint programme, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay ink coverage study, Ryman Eco. All figures are indicative estimates for educational guidance only.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this estimate?
It's a ballpark figure for planning, not a quote. The defaults come from published averages. For a closer number, enter your real print volume and open "Cost per page" to type in your own ink, paper and maintenance costs.
Why compare against Calibri 11 pt?
Calibri 11 pt with 1.15 line spacing was Word's default for many years, so most office documents still use it. Newer versions of Word default to Aptos 11 pt, which the model treats as using almost the same amount of ink.
Will smaller text be harder to read?
It can be. 10 pt suits most internal documents, but keep larger sizes for anything aimed at readers who need them. You can raise the font size in step 2 and see how the savings change.
Do I need to install Ryman Eco?
Yes. A font only saves ink if it's installed on the computer that prints. If it isn't installed on this device, the preview shows a similar fallback font instead.
Where do the savings come from?
Three places: less ink per letter (lighter typeface and smaller size), fewer pages (smaller size and tighter spacing), and fewer sheets (duplex). The bars in the results show how each cost category changes.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. "Copy link" only puts your inputs into the page address so you can share or revisit them.