German ad agency Jung von Matt is back with another stellar idea. A new green file format called .WWF.
The WWF format is a PDF-like document that is designed not to print. The point is simple: avoid unnecessary printing by making the “do I really need paper for this?” decision explicit at the moment you save or share a file.
How the .wwf idea works
At the center is a small tool that lets you “save as WWF”. The resulting file behaves like a regular PDF for reading and sharing, but the print option is blocked by design. In other words, it is a familiar format with one permission deliberately switched off.
WWF frames this as a practical nudge within its broader “think before you print” message. It is not trying to shame printing. It is trying to stop the default reflex of printing what never needed to exist on paper in the first place.
In document-heavy organizations, small defaults like a print-disabled file option reduce waste because they change the decision moment without changing the workflow.
Why this lands beyond the gimmick
It turns a values statement into a product behavior. Plenty of sustainability campaigns ask people to care. This one asks people to choose differently in a place they already spend time: saving, sharing, and circulating documents.
It preserves user choice. The format does not decide what “should” be printed. It pushes the decision back to the sender, who knows the context. That framing matters, because it avoids the “policy tool” vibe and keeps it as a lightweight, voluntary habit.
It spreads by forwarding. A file format is distribution. When people send documents around, the format travels with the content and keeps reintroducing the idea in a natural, non-media-buy way.
What to steal for your own work
- Change the default, not the lecture. If you want different behavior, move the intervention into the everyday step where the behavior happens.
- Make the “good choice” feel like a normal choice. Keep the action one click away and compatible with existing habits.
- Design for shareability. Tools and formats can be media when they travel inside the work people already exchange.
- Define the mechanism in one sentence. “A .wwf file is essentially a PDF with printing permissions locked, saved under a different extension to force a conscious print decision.”
A few fast answers before you act
What is a .wwf file, in plain terms?
A .wwf file is a PDF-style document saved with a different extension and configured so that printing is blocked by default.
Is it truly impossible to print a .wwf document?
The intent is to block the normal print command, not to claim physical impossibility in every edge case. The point is to remove the easy, mindless print path.
How is this different from just using a “do not print” note?
A note is social friction. A format change is functional friction. The latter works even when people ignore instructions.
Where does this work best?
In teams that pass around drafts, read-only decks, internal updates, agendas, and reference documents. Anywhere printing is mostly habit, not requirement.
What is the real behavior change goal?
To make printing a deliberate act again. The win is fewer automatic prints, not zero printing.
