There's a question I ask myself every time I send a document to the printer: is this necessary? As someone who cares genuinely about the environment, printing isn't something I take lightly. But as a proofreader whose clients trust me to catch every last error before their work goes out into the world, I've learned that sometimes the honest answer is: yes, it really is.

Let me share my thinking.

The digital-first approach

My proofing process always begins on screen. For most projects, I work directly with a PDF or Word file, reading carefully, cross-referencing, checking consistency and marking up errors – all without touching a single sheet of paper. For many jobs, this is absolutely sufficient, and the work is done.

Right now, for instance, I'm working my way through an 80-page university prospectus – the kind of document where accuracy genuinely matters. Student decisions, institutional reputation, admissions information: everything has to be right. I've been through it on screen with real care and attention, page by page.

So why print at all?

Because – and this is something I've come to know from years of experience – we simply read differently on paper than we do on screen.

On screen, the eye tends to skim over the copy; the brain fills in gaps; familiar phrases get quietly glossed over. Print slows you down in the best possible way. It changes your relationship with the text, and that shift is genuinely valuable for catching the things that have survived every digital pass.

A missing word on page 47, or a repeated paragraph on page 63, or a subtle font inconsistency tucked into a caption – these are the things that can hide on screen and leap off a printed page.

This isn't habit or nostalgia – my training started on page proofs as, back then, that was the only option – it's a professional safeguard that I've come to value enormously. And for a client who trusts me with their work, it's not something I'm willing to skip.

What I do to offset the impact

Printing isn't without environmental cost, and I don't pretend otherwise – it's something I think about. But there are ways to be genuinely responsible about it:

• I always print double-sided.
• I use paper from sustainably managed sources.
• Printed proofs are recycled or, where a document is confidential, securely shredded and then recycled.
• I don't print everything – only documents where the stakes are high enough to warrant it, such as lengthy or complex publications, work with intricate layouts, or anything heading to a large-scale print run.

For shorter or more straightforward projects, on-screen proofing is my approach throughout. The print pass is always a considered decision, never a reflex.

The bigger picture

Sustainability in professional life isn't really about eliminating every resource use – it's about using resources thoughtfully and with intention. A university prospectus printed in tens of thousands of copies, with an error that slipped through because I cut a corner: that has an environmental cost too. In reprints, in wasted materials, in the time and resource it takes to put things right.

Doing thorough, careful work is part of my commitment to sustainability. I don't see these things as being in tension with each other – to me, they're very much aligned.



So yes, I still print to proof. Selectively, responsibly and with a clear conscience.