Almost Paperless
When I was growing up it was necessary to keep every kind of paper document in a business for basic compliance. We had large rooms filled with filing cabinets and two noisy unreliable printers on every PC (TRS-80). We also had employees who did nothing but "file".
With the introduction of the PC in 1980 paper use doubled over the following twenty years. Although paper use has been in decline since 2000 we still need to save money and resources by continuing to move away from unnecessary paper use. Saving money is just the start; the benefits tend to multiply when a paperless world is realized. Hardcopy is no longer required by the bulk of parties in business transactions. Electronic records are now a completely acceptable method of permanent storage.
Paperless Economy
While a paperless society is still on the horizon the framework is already in place; people are connected. Reversed in one generation we now want to see electronic proof of the documents hold in our hand. Our currency is even stored electronically and there is no law requiring it to have a physical counterpart. We already have a paperless currency. The money supply grows and (rarely) shrinks inside a machine; we used to print what we needed. Electronic storage is already seen as the most sensible method of record keeping; it is trusted and replied upon now more than paper.
Postscript, PDF and various accepted standards in graphics storage and multimedia have made paperless practical. Average people now speak of file formats in normal conversation referring to exchanging information (media, documents). The proliferation of hand held mobile computers with wireless connectivity will certainly hasten the decline of paper use. That is, if both developers and users make an effort to take advantage of these capabilities. We need to get receipts and statements on an iPhone and easily transfer them to our fixed machine or maybe store them in the cloud. We can already do this with email but I would like retail POS receipts sent to my device of choice before I leave the store, instead of being printed.
Although paper is still loved and has many uses outside of business the time has come to drastically reduce our consumption of it in the workplace. What good is a hard copy if they're always generated by computer anyway? In the last ten years that room full of filing cabinets has shrunk to a wall full of filing cabinets and the office is devoid of printer noise; paper stock is in steady reduction and there are no longer employees dedicated to "filing". Our clients get statements and reports in email and on secure web sites now, they get them quicker and have easier access. Printers last longer and technical support calls are down, productivity is up.
Books and Multimedia
Authors, publishers and readers benefit from drastically reduced prices and easy distribution of paperless books on specialized devices. Screen radiation has always been a problem with computer use, inhibiting paperless efforts. Glare from monitors, LCD and CRT alike, "strain the eyes" and greatly limit a person's productivity or attention stamina. Unfortunately, developing a display technology that doesn't’t glare is very difficult. You can't play games on a Kindle for instance because the screen cant keep up with the pace of graphical changes, so rapid animations such as movies (mpeg, avi, flash) are out of the question, for now. Be aware that very large influential companies are aiming to monopolize standards and delivery methods to reduce a reader's choice and the flow of information. They want a closed internet where you subscribe to your favorite media through their device and if someone wants to reach you they have to pay for it (the TV model). Right now the internet is wild and woolly and anyone can publish and be found through open search. Some global technology companies seek to stamp out this system and replace it with THIER mobile device solutions and their method of content delivery. Demand choices.
Business Applications
Its now normal for business applications to support various electronic output formats such as PDF and graphics files. Ten years ago you had to pay $400 a seat to produce PDF documents. Even if your business applications don't support PDF output you can install a free PDF printer like Bullzip PDF Printer. It will take print output from any application and convert it to a PDF or graphic image file automatically and even allows you to easily combine PDF documents. Other free applications like Nevitium Invoice Manager build PDF invoices and quotes and allow you to send them with one click, no hassle. Nevitium also supports PDF output for all reports and billing statements (credit notes). Digital signature capture is also becoming popular which will further reduce the need to produce paper documents that require signatures.
Shopper's Cards can allow retailers to stop purchasing case after case of expensive thermal paper at the same time making it easier for customers to return products hassle free. Maybe grocers will start letting you track your purchases online instead of printing long receipts, think of the benefits. Instant, direct notification on food recalls come to mind.
In our day and age there is no excuse for not reducing paper usage. The tools are freely available and the ideas abound. It is up to everyone to be creative and imagine where we can eliminate waste. But whatever you do, don't print this article.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperless_office
Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country ~ William Greider
http://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php
http://www.amazon.com/kindle/
http://www.kroger.com/mykroger/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.shopyourwayrewards.com/
Contact the Author: software@datavirtue.com
Side Note:
BACKUP!
It is still our responsibility to preserve our records. You need a multi-point redundant backup method in place that is easy to use. Personally, I backup to two external USB hard drives, three USB flash drives, DVDs, and a FTP site as well as local network shares. I wrote a simple batch file to copy files out to multiple devices. Almost every ISP now provides guaranteed backup services for a monthly fee; never put your eggs in one basket. Make sure your backup is good enough that if a catastrophe large enough to destroy it all did occur no one would care about your records anyway.