Paper is one of the most important inventions in history, was invented nearly 2000 years ago. But this tool used for writing may be in deep trouble in the future, thanks to the Second Green Movement (In contrast to the first in the late 1960s/early 1970s). What I have noticed is an increasing number of newspapers converting to Web-only formats, particularly those in smaller towns, but some major ones, such as the Christian Science Monitor, will go all-Web next month. This trend has been going on for years now in the medical industry, and now an increasing number of schools are using E-readers for textbook. This sort of mirrors how MP3 music is completely electronic with no physical medium. Pretty soon, anything with paper may be as quaint as vinyl records and silver coins. 

I guess that Michael Scott, should be worried now.

;D

^ hehe, "That's what she said."  ;D


Well, our office is trying to take the effort to go paperless, such as emailing documents more often, scanning documents into the system, etc. It's a lot of work, but it can be a good possibility it will happen sooner rather than later. I used to work for a newspaper for 6 years. I saw it at probably one of it's peaks and now have seen it at it's probably lowest point. So many layoffs, it's like a ghosttown. So many people I liked and loved worked there, are now gone. It's a bit sad on the receiving end.

The business I'm in is horrendously paper-based...

Lawyers, being the creatures of habit that they are, always want a 'hard copy' of something!

We thought the writing was on the wall when e-mail started to take a hold and although it has made a dent, it's not as much as it theoretically could be...

Yes, I'll grant that we do lop down a sizeable chunk of rain forest per annum, but it keeps me off the streets!

The business I'm in is horrendously paper-based...

Lawyers, being the creatures of habit that they are, always want a 'hard copy' of something!

We thought the writing was on the wall when e-mail started to take a hold and although it has made a dent, it's not as much as it theoretically could be...

Yes, I'll grant that we do lop down a sizeable chunk of rain forest per annum, but it keeps me off the streets!


I can agree with you there, Paul. I work in the insurance business, and big chunks of paper are used to print up policies and endorsements and correspondence. We try our best to minimize it, but again, people like their hard copies.

The business I'm in is horrendously paper-based...

Lawyers, being the creatures of habit that they are, always want a 'hard copy' of something!



Not only that, but the facility of office printers and copy machines encourages endless memos!  I suspect only a few people on this board are old enough to remember the hand-cranked mimeograph.  Our school had one in the '70s just as the technology was going obsolete.  Running off 100 copies on one of those was a workout, so the office chose memoranda with more discretion!

I wonder how many here have used a manual typewriter?  I don't mean I nice IBM Selectric, but one of those funky old clunkers with the manual return roller and each key pushing a lever that actually plunked down on the page.  If you goofed on one of those babies, you applied the correction fluid.  At my last job, I used to proof read hardcopies all the time (of my own and other employees) and I'd always notice some error.  If there was so much as a comma out of place, the whole page would go into the recycling bin.  Hey, better that than having the boss piss and moan about typos.  At the end of the week, the bin would be flooding scrapped copies onto the floor.

Sometimes a printer goes on the fritz and starts spitting out dozens of pages with little squiggles on them!  Sure, you could cut 'em up for scratch paper, but why bother?  The company buys hundreds of little Post-It note packages. 

The average business office likely uses MORE paper than it did in 1979!  At the dawn of the computer/word processing age the silly-con valley geeks promised a golden age of paperless offices and forests saved from the ax.  We're still waiting!