Use invoices, order records, or reams issued. Best for spending and long periods; affected by inventory timing.
Measure enough to make a good decision.
A baseline should be repeatable, understandable, and proportional to the decision. Choose one primary measure; use the others only to explain what you see.
Choose one primary source.
These measures are related, but they are not interchangeable. A purchase records when paper enters; a device meter records printed sides or sheets; a discard check records visible waste.
Record printer and copier counters at the start and end. Confirm whether the device reports sheets, sides, images, or jobs.
Use existing print-management reports when available. Record what systems and devices are included and protect personal data.
Count or weigh abandoned and recyclable paper for a short, consistent period. Follow safety, privacy, and waste-handling rules.
Use transparent calculations.
Sheets from reams
Use the sheet count printed on the packaging or invoice. Do not assume every product or partial ream is the same.
Sheets purchased = reams purchased × sheets per ream
Change from the baseline
Compare equivalent periods. A positive result below means use fell; a negative result means use rose.
Sheets reduced = baseline sheets − follow-up sheets
Percentage change = (baseline sheets − follow-up sheets) ÷ baseline sheets × 100
Use per person
This can help compare periods when team size, staff count, or enrollment changes. Record who is included.
Sheets per person per week = total sheets ÷ people included ÷ weeks measured
Documented purchasing cost
Use actual invoices and include only comparable paper. Avoid claiming toner, maintenance, labor, or storage savings unless those costs were measured too.
Paper purchasing change = baseline purchase cost − follow-up purchase cost
Keep units explicit. A printed side, a physical sheet, a page in a document, a print job, and a ream are not the same. Duplex printing can put two printed sides on one sheet, so write down what the counter measures.
Make the comparison fair.
The number matters only if the periods and boundaries make sense together.
Match the calendar
Compare similar weeks or months. Note exams, enrollment cycles, year-end reports, major mailings, events, and closures.
Match the devices
Use the same printer and copier set. Record replacements, resets, maintenance, and work shifted to an external print vendor.
Match the people
Track staff, students, members, or household size when it changes enough to affect the result.
Protect privacy
Use totals where possible. Do not collect document contents or individual print histories unless there is a justified, authorized need.
Record quality
Track reprints, missing handouts, access requests, abandoned pages, and user feedback so a lower count is not mistaken for a better process.
State uncertainty
Inventory changes, partial reams, offsite printing, meter definitions, and manual samples can all limit precision. Say what is incomplete.
Print the worksheet or save it as a PDF, then keep the completed copy with the local project records.
Paper-reduction worksheet
- Scope
- Team, grade, department, office, activity, or household:
- Owner
- Person responsible for the measure and review:
- Baseline period
- Dates, ordinary or unusual events, people included:
- Primary measure
- Purchases, sheets issued, device meter, print report, or discard sample; exact unit:
- Baseline result
- Total and any per-person or per-week calculation:
- Change tested
- One routine, default, form, meeting, mailing, or purchasing practice:
- Necessary exceptions
- Accessibility, learning, legal, record-retention, assessment, technology, or community needs:
- Follow-up period
- Dates and conditions matched to the baseline:
- Follow-up result
- Total, percentage change, documented cost change, and quality observations:
- Next decision
- Keep, revise, stop, or expand; owner and next review date:
Report the result without overclaiming.
A useful summary names the scope, dates, method, baseline, follow-up, percentage change, cost change if documented, access or quality findings, unusual events, and next action.
Present conversions from sheets to trees, water, greenhouse gases, waste, or pollution as estimates. Cite a method suited to the paper, geography, energy mix, recycled content, disposal pathway, and decision, and state the assumptions.
For broader guidance, see the U.S. EPA’s waste-diversion practices, paper and printer-ink guidance, and school waste-reduction resources.
Need help choosing the measure?
Email the scope and the records you already have. Do not send sensitive print contents or personal data.