Arial is bad for the planet

AP reports:

A US university has found a new way to cut costs with email – by changing the font.

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has switched the default font on its email system from Arial to Century Gothic. It says that while the change sounds minor, it will save money on ink when students print emails in the new font.

Diane Blohowiak is the school’s director of computing. She says the new font uses about 30 per cent less ink than the previous one.

That could add up to real savings, since the cost of printer ink works out to about US$10,000 (NZ$14,000) per gallon.

Blohowiak says the decision is part of the school’s five-year plan to go green. She tells Wisconsin Public Radio it’s great that a change that’s eco-friendly also saves money.

I expect to see a Green Party bill to ban the Arial font in due course.