Dutch marketing and communications company Spranq has developed a typeface they claim can save up to 20 percent of ink costs by reducing the amount of ink used on a page. The typeface is called Ecofont and is based on Verdana

Here’s what it looks like:

The company says about the font:

The prints we make for our ‘daily use’ not only use paper, but also ink. According to SPRANQ creative communications (Utrecht, The Netherlands) your ink cartridges (or ink toner) could last longer. SPRANQ has therefore developed a new font: the Ecofont.

“After Dutch holey cheese, there now is a Dutch font with holes as well.”

Appealing ideas are often simple: how much of a letter can be removed while maintaining readability? After extensive testing with all kinds of shapes, the best results were achieved using small circles. After lots of late hours (and coffee) this resulted in a font that uses up to 20% less ink.

20 percent is not bad, isn’t it? However, the developer point out that actual savings depend on two factors:

• the smaller the fontsize, the lower the saving
• the type and age of the used printer

The typeface can be freely downloaded Ecofont Website