We could try to define a way to measure the “word count” of the average edit, but that 8217;s hard bordering on impossible. Fortunately, we don 8217;t need to-we can just estimate that each change is going to require us to reprint a page somewhere. Many edits will actually change multiple pages-but many other edits are reverts, which would let us put back pages we 8217;ve already printed.1 One page per edit seems like a reasonable middle ground.
我们可以试着定义一种方式，计算平均每次编辑的“字数”，但这会非常艰难，几乎不可能。还好我们并不需要这么做——我们可以估算每次需要再新打印一页的变化，虽然许多编辑修改可能需要好多页才能打印完——但很多编辑是回退操作，也就是说我们可以把很多已经打印好的纸再放回去。1每次编辑要花费一张纸这个估算看上去挺合理的。
For a mix of photos, tables, and text typical of Wikipedia, a good inkjet printer might put out 15 pages per minute. That means you 8217;d need only about six printers running at any given time to keep pace with the edits.
维基百科页面上一般是图文表格混杂，对于这样的内容，一台不错的喷墨打印机每分钟能够打印15页。也就是说只需要6台打印机就能在任何时刻跟上电子版的更新速度。
The paper would stack up quickly. Using Rob Matthews 8217; book as a starting point, I did my own back-of-the-envelope estimate for the size of the current English Wikipedia. Based on the average length of featured articles vs. all articles, I came up with an estimate of 300 cubic meters for a printout of the whole thing in plain text form.
打印出来的纸张很快就会堆积起来。以罗布•马修斯打印出来的书作为参考，我自己又大致估算了一下现有的英文版维基百科的规模，根据“特色文章”的平均长度和所有文章的比值，我估计整个英文维基百科打印出来要有300立方米。
By comparison, if you were trying to keep up with the edits, you 8217;d print out 300 cubic meters every month.
而如果你想赶上目前的更新编辑速度，你每个月都要打印300立方米的纸。
$500,000 per month
每月花费50万美元
Six printers isn 8217;t that many, but they 8217;d be running all the time. And that gets expensive.
6台打印机并不多，但鉴于它们是在不间断地打印，成本一下子就上去了。
The electricity to run them would be cheap-a few dollars a day.
每天的电费倒是不贵——也就几美元吧。
The paper would be about 1 cent per sheet, which means you 8217;ll be spending about a thousand dollars a day on paper. You 8217;d need to hire people to manage the printers 24/7, but that would actually cost less than the paper.
纸张差不多每张1美分，这么说来一天要花掉约1000美元。你要雇人24小时管理这些打印机，不过雇人的成本还没纸张的花费高呢。
Even the printers themselves wouldn 8217;t be too expensive, despite the terrifyingly fast replacement cycle.
即使是打印机本身也不贵，除了吓人的更新周期。
But the ink cartridges would be a nightmare.
但墨盒的花费将会成为你的噩梦。
Ink
墨水
A study by QualityLogic found that for a typical inkjet printer, the real-life cost of ink ran from 5 cents per page for black-and-white to around 30 cents per page for photos. That means you 8217;d be spending four to five figures per day on ink cartridges.
QualityLogic2进行的一项研究指出，一个普通的喷墨打印机的实际墨水成本是从黑白的每张5美分到彩色的每张约30美分。这意味着你每天花掉的墨水钱要达到4～5位数。
You definitely want to invest in a laser printer. Otherwise, in just a month or two, this project could end up costing you half a million dollars:
你肯定会想买一个激光打印机。否则不出一两个月，这个项目就会耗费你50万美元。
But that 8217;s not even the worst part.
但这还不是最糟糕的呢。
On January 18, 2012, Wikipedia blacked out all its pages to protest proposed Internet-freedom-limiting laws. If, someday, Wikipedia decides to go dark again, and you want to join the protest . . .
2012年1月18日，维基百科涂黑了所有的页面以抗议限制互联网自由的法案。如果有一天维基百科再次决定进行黑屏活动，然后你又想参与这一提议……
. . . you 8217;ll have to get a crate of markers and color every page solid black yourself.
……你得买一大捆记号笔，然后把每张纸全部涂黑，而这全部都将由你一个人完成。
I would definitely stick to digital.
我还是用回我的电子版吧。
1 The filing system that would be required for this would be mind-bending. I 8217;m fighting the urge to start trying to design it.
1． 这么做所需要的归档系统会让人脑袋炸掉。我正在拼命压抑冲动，不让自己着手设计一套这种系统。