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Posted in technical writing.

The CO2 Footprint of Paper Manuals

Marvin Blome – .

Find out how much CO2 is generated during the production of manuals. Is switching to digital manuals the way to a sustainable future?

Paper CO₂ Calculator

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Estimate carbon footprint for paper production

g/m²
pages
copies
🌲 Virgin Paper
Paper mass—
Per copy—
Total batch—
♻️ 50% recycled
Paper mass—
Per copy—
Total batch—
♻️ 100% Recycled
Paper mass—
Per copy—
Total batch—

Calculation Assumptions

Scope & assumptions

  • We calculate paper production + printing energy only.
  • Duplex is always on. “Printed pages” means sides; sheets per copy = ceil(pages / 2).
  • We exclude freight, binding, packaging, waste and end-of-life.

Inputs & units

  • Format in mm: A3, A4, A5, Letter, Legal
  • Paper weight (gsm) in g/m²
  • Printed pages = number of printed sides
  • Copies = identical manuals

Emission factors

  • Virgin paper: 1.2 kg CO₂/kg
  • Recycled paper: 0.7 kg CO₂/kg
  • Mixed (50% recycled): 0.95 kg CO₂/kg
  • Printing: 0.001 kg CO₂/page (1 g per printed page)

Formulas

area_m²         = (width_mm × height_mm) / 1,000,000
		m_sheet_kg      = (area_m² × gsm) / 1000
		sheets_per_copy = ceil(pages / 2)
		m_copy_kg       = m_sheet_kg × sheets_per_copy
		M_total_kg      = m_copy_kg × copies
		
		CO₂_print   = pages × copies × 0.001
		CO₂_paper   = M_total_kg × EF_scenario
		CO₂_total   = CO₂_paper + CO₂_print
		CO₂_percopy = CO₂_total / copies

What the cards show

  • Paper mass per copy
  • Per copy CO₂ (paper + printing)
  • Total batch CO₂
  • The lowest total is marked as Recommended.

Tip: If you need single-sided output, double the page count to emulate duplex off.

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Manuals are everywhere. Whether it's an electrical appliance, a piece of furniture or software — in most cases you will still find a printed guide inside the box. Millions of manuals exist worldwide and – despite decades of digital transformation – print remains the default. But what about sustainability?

Paper Production

Manuals vary widely in format (DIN A6–A3) and page count (20–200). To calculate their embodied emissions we first determine weight, then multiply by published cradle‑to‑gate factors.

  • 80 g/m2 paper: 1.225 g (A6) → 9.8 g (A3) per sheet [Calculatas]

  • Carbon factors: 0.7 kg CO2/kg (100 % recycled) and 1.2 kg CO2/kg (virgin fibre)

(Formulas created in adoc Studio)

Using the factors above the paper production of a DIN A6 manual ranges from 0.02 kg CO2 (20 pages, recycled) up to 0.37 kg CO2 (200 pages, virgin). For DIN A3 the span is 0.16 kg – 1.57 kg CO2. Full tables are attached below.

Emissions During Printing

Most of a desktop laser printer’s energy is consumed while warming up and fusing toner; page area has little impact. Recent measurements by ezeep put the average at 1 g CO2 per printed page for typical European electricity mixes. In the first version of this post we mistakenly added 5.15 g CO2 on top of the paper emissions, effectively double‑counting. The factor has now been corrected.

(Formulas created in adoc Studio)

We ignore indirect logistics, binding and end‑of‑life impacts to keep the comparison concise. The following table shows the total emissions – paper plus printing – for recycled versus virgin fibre stock.

A6 A5 A4 A3
20 Pages 0,03 kg CO2 - 0,03 kg CO2 0,04 kg CO2 - 0,05 kg CO2 0,05 kg CO2 - 0,08 kg CO2 0,09 kg CO2 - 0,14 kg CO2
40 Pages 0,06 kg CO2 - 0,07 kg CO2 0,07 kg CO2 - 0,10 kg CO2 0,11 kg CO2 - 0,16 kg CO2 0,18 kg CO2 - 0,28 kg CO2
60 Pages 0,09 kg CO2 - 0,10 kg CO2 0,11 kg CO2 - 0,15 kg CO2 0,16 kg CO2 - 0,24 kg CO2 0,27 kg CO2 - 0,42 kg CO2
80 Pages 0,11 kg CO2 - 0,14 kg CO2 0,15 kg CO2 - 0,20 kg CO2 0,22 kg CO2 - 0,32 kg CO2 0,36 kg CO2 - 0,56 kg CO2
100 Pages 0,14 kg CO2 - 0,17 kg CO2 0,19 kg CO2 - 0,25 kg CO2 0,27 kg CO2 - 0,40 kg CO2 0,45 kg CO2 - 0,70 kg CO2
120 Pages 0,17 kg CO2 - 0,21 kg CO2 0,22 kg CO2 - 0,30 kg CO2 0,33 kg CO2 - 0,48 kg CO2 0,54 kg CO2 - 0,84 kg CO2
140 Pages 0,20 kg CO2 - 0,24 kg CO2 0,26 kg CO2 - 0,35 kg CO2 0,38 kg CO2 - 0,56 kg CO2 0,63 kg CO2 - 0,98 kg CO2
160 Pages 0,23 kg CO2 - 0,28 kg CO2 0,30 kg CO2 - 0,40 kg CO2 0,44 kg CO2 - 0,64 kg CO2 0,72 kg CO2 - 1,12 kg CO2
180 Pages 0,26 kg CO2 - 0,31 kg CO2 0,34 kg CO2 - 0,45 kg CO2 0,49 kg CO2 - 0,72 kg CO2 0,81 kg CO2 - 1,26 kg CO2
200 Pages 0,29 kg CO2 - 0,35 kg CO2 0,37 kg CO2 - 0,50 kg CO2 0,55 kg CO2 - 0,80 kg CO2 0,90 kg CO2 - 1,40 kg CO2

The CO2 Footprint of a 100‑Page DIN A4 manual

Let’s apply the new factors to a real‑world scenario: a 100‑page DIN A4 manual printed on recycled paper.

  • Weight per A4 sheet: 4.9 g

  • Total weight: 4.9 g × 100 = 0.49 kg

  • Paper emissions: 0.49 kg × 0.7 = 0.34 kg CO2

  • Printing emissions: 100 pages × 0.001 kg = 0.10 kg CO2

  • Total: 0.44 kg CO2

Printing 10 000 copies would therefore generate roughly 4.4 t CO2 — about three years of commuting for an average German car driver (Quarks).

Marvin Blome
Written by:
Marvin Blome
Content creator and technology enthusiast

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