Category Display Foundry SPRANQ | Designer(s) SPRANQ Date created 2009 | |
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Ecofont is the name of a TrueType font family, an application program for Windows, and a Dutch business firm.
Contents
Ecofont Vera Sans (originally called Eco Sans) was developed by SPRANQ in the Netherlands in order to reduce ink consumption when printing. Each character in the font contains tiny holes, thus reducing the amount of ink needed by approximately 15 percent when compared to the Vera Sans family on which Ecofont Sans is based.
The Ecofont application program inserts small holes in other fonts in order to reduce ink consumption.
Both the software and the Ecofont Sans fonts are distributed and sold by Ecofont BV, based in Utrecht.
History
The initial Ecofont Vera Sans was developed for office use to be an eco-friendly alternative for the often used Verdana typeface.
In a 2010 test, Ecofont Vera Sans saved 20% more ink when compared to Bitstream Vera Sans. However, both sans-serif fonts used more ink than most typical serif fonts. Therefore, Ecofont developed software to save ink when using any typeface, including serif fonts.
Ecofont software (formerly marketed as "Ecofont Professional") reduces ink consumption by riddling each character with holes, without reducing legibility.
In 2011 Ecofont announced that a reproducible test comparing Arial with Ecofont Arial showed ink savings of 28%.
Awards
The Eco Sans font received the European Environmental Design Award 2010 from DiMAD in Spain.
Ecofont received the Accenture Innovation Award 2011 in the category Consumer Products, the Sprout Challenger Award in 2012 and the SMEs Innovation Top 100 in 2013