The World Wildlife Federation announced the creation of its first file format, WWF, designed as a replacement for PDF. It's essentially identical to PDF, except for one key difference: It can't be printed. The WWF hopes this will reduce unnecessary paper use, or at least bring some attention to the fact that lots of paper use is unnecessary...
The WWF format is essentially a plugin (Mac-only for now, but coming to Windows soon) that allows the user to save any document as a WWF. Those files can be opened and viewed in most programs used to open PDFs, except they can't be printed (and they add a little note about saving paper to the bottom of documents).
Via
PopSci, where the commentary is generally dismissive.
"Unprintable" is just a challenge to those who write open-source software.
ReplyDeleteWTFF?(you have to figure that one out yourself). Saving a tear soaked tree just doesn't seem like a worthwhile goal to write code to--do what?--prevent a few individuals who want to hold their reading in hand, or to pass it around to others, from printing out a few sheets of paper. Furthermore, there is already plenty of freeware around to easily print this useless format. But, I am sure that it makes someone, somewhere, feel a bit better.
ReplyDeleteI'm the newsletter editor for my local Sierra Club group. About a year and a half ago, we switched from a printed format to an e-newsletter.
ReplyDeleteI have one reader who contacts me after almost every issue with a rant along the lines of, "I tried to print your newsletter and it didn't print right and it was 30 pages that came out of the printer and it isn't recycled paper because I'm printing this at work and don't get to choose the paper. 30 pages? That's not very environmental of you."
I'd like to find this woman's employer and ask the company to install the WWF plug-in. After her last email I simply replied that she should get someone to show her how to use a computer.
I than think of at least a half dozen ways to easily print this. It is a trivial matter to print anything that can be displayed on a computer screen. It is only a little more difficult to convert it to an editable format or plain text.
ReplyDeleteThis is like putting a padlock on a cardboard box.
... a wet cardboard box.
ReplyDelete...with fist sized holes and the key sitting on top
ReplyDeleteI don't think the goal is like DRM to try and prevent you from ever printing it. Probably more of an attempt to raise awareness. If you need to convert it to a PDF to print it you may just stop & think, "Do I really need to print this out?". I know lots of people at my work print things as a matter of short term convenience and then pitch it when they could just pull the document up on the screen.
ReplyDelete*palm to face* There is nothing about a WWF file that makes it unprintable other than the writers of the printing software choosing not to recognise it.
ReplyDeleteI'll accept this as a scheme to raise awareness of paper wastage. But as a practical solution? Just prevent printers from printing PDF files... solved!
As a professor, a few of my students ran some scenarios regarding whether printing my course readings or reading them on line was better for things like water consumption (i.e. within energy). Testing lap-tops and computers on campus, and even with the long-term energy costs of the servers, they found it better to print!
ReplyDeleteFood for thought in the digital age when "costs" of environmental practices are buried and kept at a distance from actual practices.
Sorry, the above should say WITHOUT factoring in server costs it is still a matter of empirical findings as to whether "paperless" is good.
ReplyDelete"I know lots of people at my work print things as a matter of short term convenience and then pitch it when they could just pull the document up on the screen."
ReplyDeleteThe day I can write on my screen is the day I will stop printing reports. I have no strong emotional attachment to using paper but I'm going to do everything I can to make my work easier on myself. Someday computers and monitors may be flexible and cheap enough for most of us to give up paper, but that day isn't today.
Also, trees are a renewable resource. We can't say the same about the coal used to generate the electricity we need to go truly paperless.