During the first quarter, Senior Program Manager Jennifer Mehra decided to transition from colored printing to grayscale as the default setting for the printers. The switch had been trialed at the Middle School last year before implementation at Northrop this year. The printers are not owned by the school but rather by Loffler. Nat Gilsdorf, Instructional Technology Coach, explained how switching to black and white saves the school and Loffler “tens and thousands of dollars.” He explained, “When people print something in color but it is actually only black and white, like an English paper, the printer still uses all the color.” According to Gilsdorf, the benefits of saving money through grayscale printing outweigh these small troubles that students may encounter.

In addition, printing in black and white is better for the environment by using less ink and energy. Gilsdorf acknowledged that environmental benefits were also a factor in making the switch, but the decision was mainly fueled by how much money could be saved.

Max Vezmar ‘26, who frequently uses the school printers, believes that the switch was “worth it” given the benefits it provides to both the environment and the school.