Changing Fonts, and Other Money Saving Tips for Small Firms
Did you know that Hewlett-Packard printer ink can cost you upwards of $75/ounce? Compare that to Chanel N°5 that costs $38/ounce and that's some expensive ink. And, what exactly does this have to do with you and how you run your firm? Everything.
A 14-year old student found a way to save the U.S. Government $136 million per year, reports CNN. How? Simply swapping the Times New Roman font to Garamond in Government publications. Yes, us too.
So that got us thinking, what other small things can you do around your firm to save some money? We came up with a few for you.
1. Change Fonts
For internal office documents and client memoranda, you may want to use a font like Garamond that doesn't use as much ink as Times New Roman. You may not want to do (and we don't recommend) that you conduct a scientific analysis of fonts. But, by looking at the thickness of the stroke, and whether the font is serif (versus non-serif) will give you a rough idea of whether a particular font will use more or less ink.
STOP: Remember that for court documents, font rules differ by jurisdiction so be sure to adhere to court standards for those docs.
2. Print Double-Sided
While court documents have their own rules, for inter-office and client documents, you can save money on paper (and trees) by printing double-sided. Set you printer default to 2-sided so you have to stop and think before you print out more pages on a one-side print.
3. Only What You Need
And while you're at it, only print what you really need. Some people have a knee jerk reaction to print anything that's important, but before you click print, really think about whether you can make a note somewhere or if you have to print that email.
4. Turn Electronics Off
This is super simple and will save you on your energy bill. Make sure you (and employees) turn off all unused electronics when you head home at the end of the day -- including computer monitors. Good for the environment, good for the bottom line.
5. The Heat/AC
We're not sure why but we've notice many offices go a little crazy when it comes to temperature. In the winter to counteract the cold, office temps are super high, and in the summer to beat the heat the AC is on blast. Offices don't need to be frigid in the summer -- if everyone around you is wearing sweaters in the summer then the AC is on too high. Lower it, and save some money.
This list is by no means finite, but should serve as a launching point for you to take a look around your own office and see what you could do to save money. What looks like a minor expense adds up when you add up all the days in the year, and all the people in your office.
Editor's Note, March 31, 2015: This post was first published in March 2014. It has since been updated.
Related Resources:
- 5 Non-Times New Roman Fonts Courts Use in Their Opinions (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- Office Furniture: Expensive, Weird, Ergonomic and Functional (FindLaw's Strategist Blog)
- Law Office Ergonomics: Tips for Staying Pain-Free (FindLaw's Strategist Blog)
- Office Decor: 5 Decorating Tips for Your Law Office or Cubicle (FindLaw's Strategist Blog)
