Every year, businesses and individuals spend billions on printer ink and toner. A significant portion of that cost goes into printing text. Eco-Type offers a simple but powerful solution: reduce the ink required to print any font by up to 40%, with no visible difference at normal reading sizes.
How Does Eco-Type Work?
Eco-Type applies a Smart-Hole Algorithm to your font file. It places thousands of microscopic holes inside the filled areas of each character. These holes are:
- Too small to see at normal print sizes (10pt–72pt)
- Uniformly distributed to avoid visible patterns
- Precisely calibrated to avoid distorting the letterforms
The result: when you print text, the printer deposits less ink per character — but the text looks exactly the same to the human eye.
Ink Savings by Font Type
Results vary depending on the typeface:
| Font Type | Estimated Savings |
| Heavy/Black weight | Up to 40% |
| Bold | 25–35% |
| Regular | 15–25% |
| Light/Thin | 8–15% |
| Script/Handwriting | 8–14% |
Thicker letterforms have more interior area, which means more room for micro-holes and therefore greater savings.
How to Use Eco-Type
Step 1: Open Eco-Type
Go to vectrod.com/studio and select Eco-Type from the sidebar.
Step 2: Upload Your Font
Click the upload area and select your TTF or OTF font file.
Step 3: Choose a Mode
- Normal: Conservative hole placement, invisible at all sizes, ~15–25% savings
- Aggressive: Maximum savings, imperceptible at 12pt+, up to 40% savings
Step 4: Download
Click Apply & Download to get your optimized font file. The result is a fully valid TTF/OTF that works in any application.
Is It Really Invisible?
Yes — at normal document sizes (10pt–72pt). Eco-Type holes are sized based on the font's UPM (units per em), ensuring they're always sub-pixel at typical viewing sizes. At very large print sizes (300pt+), you may see faint structure — but at sizes used in body text, headings, and even large display text, the difference is undetectable.
Environmental and Cost Impact
For a company printing 10,000 pages per month with text-heavy documents:
- Before Eco-Type: Standard ink cost, full density coverage
- After Eco-Type: Up to 40% reduction in ink per page
That can translate to thousands in annual savings on consumables, plus a meaningful reduction in cartridge waste.
Compatibility
Eco-Type outputs standard TTF/OTF files. The optimized fonts are compatible with:
- All operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- All design applications (Adobe Suite, Figma, Canva, etc.)
- All printer types (laser and inkjet)
- Web use via
@font-face