Comments on: Xerox pushing services that eliminate machines and cut paper use

By: Claire

Claire — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:52:59 +0000

As a corporate accountant, I will never be paperless. The amount of documentation from different sources that we have to reconcile & then print out for verification purposes is a lot. Everything has to be physically signed for approvals and to show items have been audited. And then we also have to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley…don’t even get me started on how much paper we use related to that!! I wish I could be paperless, but it’s impossible to do in corporate finance.

By: Eleanor W. Craig

Eleanor W. Craig — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:32:32 +0000

The medical recruiting firm for which I work converted to PSCs several years ago. One of the features I most enjoy is being able to scan a document and send it straight from the PCS to the recipient.I can also send it to myself, add comments, then send. This allows me to send all documents electronically without a fax printout on the other end.

By: susan

susan — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:27:31 +0000

It is funny- at work we have a joke that you would think with computers it would be easy to go paperless, but we find that with computers and new technology, the paper output in work places has INCREASED!

A paperless existence is a nice idea. I can’t see it happening any time soon.

I myself am making a concerted effort to try to reduce the paper in my life. Paper accumulation is my biggest clutter obstacle in life. At work, I used to print out the day’s reports, and other documents every day (about 10 pages a day- not much, but over time, and with 1000′s of people in the company all doing something similar), and now I print out 4 pages a day…crucial documents that I need to write on and that I need to access instantly in an dire emergency.

We got the two screen setup at work 2 years ago, and I agree with the other poster, that cut down on the need to print big time. Now we can keep our main application open on one monitor, and reference docs, email, etc. on the other one.

Now, I only print out the pages I need to write on…sort of like worksheets. Some of my colleagues don’t even do that- they modify the original docs right on their computer and resave it. I still find it easier to have the physical paper in my hand, and to write everything right there. In my line of work, if the $$%^& hits the fan, I need certain information instantly, and “my computer froze” or “let me find that doc” just don’t cut it unfortunately.

Also another caveat with a paperless society– make sure you back up your data…ruthlessly. One computer crash can ruin the paperless office in a second.

I am trying to reduce my paper considerably (honest!!), but can’t possibly go truly paperless. I am trying!!

By: Tim at Home Document Manager

Tim at Home Document Manager — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:24:04 +0000

@Sherri – There is something intensely personal about one’s relationship with paper. When I get a letter, statement or something else that I need to keep, I resent its presence, so I don’t even read it until it’s scanned and shredded. Viewing it on the computer is a more serene experience for me, it’s not taking up space, I can read it later without leaving clutter.

On the other hand, when I’m jotting down notes or doing something creative, I much prefer to work *with* paper – just because I find it often helps to get the juices flowing.

@Taylor – I feel your pain. Recommend Jungle Disk for backup.

By: JenK

JenK — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:16:03 +0000

I find I print less now that I have 2 monitors. When editing, for example, I can have my notes on one monitor and make the updates on the other.

I’ve also found that some eye conditions, like astigmatism, seem to affect “screen reading” ability more than others. Funny how getting new glasses makes screens so much easier to read!

By: John

John — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:58:30 +0000

My Kindle has helped me go paperless at work. I used to print long documents to read (too tiring to read them on-screen) but now I just email them to my Kindle (word or PDF formats) and read them there (which is a whole lot more like paper than my computer screen).

By: Whimsy Girl » Blog Archive » Positives from the economic downturn…

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:10:16 +0000

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By: Jacki Hollywood Brown

Jacki Hollywood Brown — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:18:52 +0000

I don’t think it is just the paper. In greening the office we also need to consider the cost of printers themselves and the ink cartridges they use.

I know that I pay quite a bit of money for printer cartridges that can’t be recycled or refilled. Less printing means less ink used so less money spent and less to the landfill.

Hire a professional organizer to help you manage online documents and create/use document sharing systems as well as an efficient archiving system.

By: Doug Ransom

Doug Ransom — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:16:56 +0000

I have had good experiences with shared printers because they tend to be higher quality. The downside is people get annoyed when I print 10 envelopes, and the colour multifunction device (with a great scanner) is a 60s walk away.

By: Battra92

Battra92 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:15:19 +0000

I L<3VE Xerox! We have these awesome machines at work from which I can scan to PDF or print on double sided paper and reduce paper used. I can also reduce the number of machines I have to service and support (thus less electricity used as well)

But yeah, scan to emailed PDF is awesome. We’ve deployed CutePDF as well to help reduce paper. Sure it only costs us about $0.007 per printed page but that adds up. Plus it reduces our waste and disposal fees so it just makes sense.

By: Lori Paximadis

Lori Paximadis — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:56:18 +0000

I will never be able to go entirely paperless, although I am making a concerted effort to do so where I can. But my main gig is editing and project management, and there’s just no way to go completely paperless there. I catch totally different kinds of errors on screen versus on paper. I make a first pass on screen, then do a second pass on a printout. But I do change the size and line spacing of the type and use recycled paper for these printouts, so at least I’m trying to be efficient about it.

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:52:14 +0000

I am not completely paperless, but the amount of paper in work life has decreased significantly. I started a new job in September and am one of two employees in my company’s DC office. The person who previously had my job worked out of the Chicago office and I did not inherit any paperwork. She’d been gone for over a year when I started so all relevant information was in computer files. I work at home 3 days per week and I have 3-4 hanging folders in my file cabinet with reference materials. When I go into the office, the only paperwork is that which I carry in a small folder.

This set-up works for me due to going back and forth between offices and because I travel quite a bit. I know that anything I need is on my laptop so I’m not worried about leaving a folder behind.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:14:10 +0000

The big push in the 90's was towards a completely paperless office, but the fact remains that for the time being it is just a dream. In another decade it may be a reality, but for now we will have to do with the Document Management Solutions that are available.

By: chica and jo

chica and jo — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:13:41 +0000

IBM is leader of the pack when it comes to being paperless. I have worked at the company now for almost 9 years and have gone from a small, two-drawer filing cabinet to nothing. My entire office is in my laptop, where it should be. All work related forms are online and almost 100% of those can be filled out and sent electronically. It boggles my mind to go to other offices and see stacks of needless paper. What a waste!

By: Alicia C.

Alicia C. — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:01:10 +0000

I work for a landscape architecture/civil engineering firm. I dont think we will ever be paperless. Hopefully at some point municipalities will allow plan submittal in .pdf form. But in the design process paper is still used. As well as in the redline process. We have always had a recycling policy and instead of print full sheets (24″x36″ or 30″x42″)we print sheets for in house review on 11×17. It isnt ideal, but its the best we have come up with right now.