Teaching packs, reports and community handouts often look good on screen but use a lot of ink on paper. Dark backgrounds, colored panels and photographs can make a reading copy expensive to print. PrintLight prepares a lighter PDF by clearing backgrounds, whitening paper and optionally omitting large pictures.
Read the three-page white paper
Open or download the PrintLight white paper (PDF, 3 pages)
The October 23, 2026 report includes actual before-and-after comparisons, results for every document in the savings group, linked sources, and a transparent explanation of the cost and carbon estimates.
The main findings
Across 11 selected public PDFs totaling 319 pages, PrintLight reduced estimated color-ink coverage by 56%. A separate comparison with official printer test pages suggests $15–$17 in ink savings per 100 color pages, using standard HP 923 cartridge prices and yields for this document mix.
These are digital coverage measurements and modeled estimates, rather than physical cartridge-depletion tests or guarantees. Default results omit large pictures. The combined percentage compares total ink coverage before and after across all pages in the savings group; it is not the average of the document percentages.
What changed in the examples?
In UNICEF’s child-rights handout, colored panels become white while icons and labels remain visible. That whole four-page PDF showed 74% estimated ink savings. A CDC handwashing poster showed 76%; the 64-page Peace at the Heart report showed 48%. The white paper shows matching original and PrintLight captures. These individual results are distinct from the combined 56% finding. Source publishers do not endorse PrintLight.
Some documents need very little cleanup. The tested NPS maps showed only 6% savings while retaining meaningful colors and details. Two already-light documents were unchanged. Those preservation examples are reported separately from the savings group.
How the dollar estimate works
A dense brochure and a standard printer test page are different workloads. We measured both our PDFs and the official five-page ISO/IEC 24712 test PDF at the same printable size, separately for each ink color. We used that comparison with standard HP 923 cartridge prices and ISO-rated yields.
For this mix, the model estimates roughly $30–$33 in ink per 100 original color pages and $15–$16 after PrintLight. The paired calculations give $15–$17 in savings. Two color-conversion methods produce the range; it does not capture every uncertainty. Tank printers, different cartridges, maintenance habits and printer settings can change the result substantially.
A modest environmental benefit
Using HP’s cartridge lifecycle study, the model estimates 3.7–4.2 kg CO2e avoided per 1,000 color pages—about 9–11 miles of gasoline-car driving. This includes a deduction for extra processing and review electricity. Computing power was assumed, not metered; other computing impacts remain unmeasured. The model assumes lower ink use eventually reduces cartridge purchases. Printing the same pages saves no paper. Shipping is counted once; printer wear and printer electricity receive no savings credit. Tool fees and time are excluded.
Preview before printing
Pictures can contain information. Default picture removal erased a worded logo in one tested report; choosing Keep pictures restored it. A worded recycling-sign photo in another guide disappeared in both settings. Check important images, pale text, labels and tables before printing, and keep the original available.
This was an owner-commissioned convenience sample, with the savings group selected after review. Fifteen PDFs completed processing, and one additional file failed. The report records the frozen benchmark output; later app updates can change results.
Read the white paper, then try PrintLight on a PDF you already need to print. Keep pictures when they matter and check the preview.
