A while back scientists at the University of Leicester deployed their slide rules on this very conundrum, and came up with a figure of 136.2bn sheets of standard printer paper, with circa 16m trees required to make it. 

Since then we’ve had umpteen Kim Kardashian tweets and selfies, and goodness knows how many additional videos of cute cats and puppies have been produced. And, of course, as print projects go such a notion would just be, well, stupid. 

However, news of a far more practical, real-world approach to printing out the internet has reached us via Alex Steinman, social media editor of popular US magazine Entertainment Weekly. While travelling to work on the subway Steinman spotted a fellow commuter perusing a sheaf of printed pages that amounted to some 15 pages of Facebook comments. 

This seems entirely sensible to us, and we can only assume that others agree as the post has 30,000 likes and has been retweeted 15,000 times. 

It could be the start of a whole new printing trend. You heard it here 30,000 and first.