When not to take printouts - The hardcopy vs softcopy debate

The confused guy in me says that taking a printout results in wastage of paper and ink. At the same time, reading it on a computer wastes power.

This has pestered me for a while. Should I be taking a print or read it on the screen ?

It is all the more convenient to read characters on a paper than reading it on a screen. Also, it is less strain on your eyes. And you can read it lying down, running up or during a sommersault. But it comes at a cost. You waste paper, ink and power while printing.

The alternative - read it on a computer. But it wastes power, strains your eyes and you are constrained to an upright position.

So what should I do ?

In the end I decided to -

1. Take printouts only on waste papers that already has something printed on the other side.

2. Take printouts if the sum total time I might read a document is more than 10 hours. The time might be spread over a month or over a year. My gut feeling being that the 10 hours of power that a computer screen remains off would compensate for the wasted paper and ink.

3. Not to take a printout if I know for sure that I will lose the printout.

4. And to Stop reading.