Updated December 28, 2010

This coming New Year’s Day, why not resolve to cut the amount of printing you do?

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) wants to make it easy for Mac OSX users with free software that saves print jobs to WWF, a PDF format. Sure, OS X already gives you the option to save to PDF, but WWF adds a twist. Its PDF file format cannot be printed, forcing users to go paperless.

You might think that WWF is aimed at do-gooder Mac users, but some business have adopted the file format, including Suncycle, a European solar services firm.  I’m a big fan of avoiding paper printouts whenever possible, particularly at the office. And if you run a business you should be too. From small businesses to healthcare — and even government —  ditching dead tree documents can save money, improve service and boost productivity. And who doesn’t want that?

And home users, if you’re looking for a reason to go paperless, think about the cost of printer ink. The stuff is spendy! So expensive, in fact, that blood costs less per milliliter. Forcing yourself to not print every document that lands on your inbox or interesting online article that crosses your browser is a great way of slashin printing costs. And Microsoft users, don’t worry, a Windows version is in the works.

Save as WWF – World Wildlife Fund

Update: Now available for Windows.