Going paperless is a terrifying thought. We are all wedded to a culture of printing, reading and chucking, or, maybe recycling. But not only does being wasteful with paper make our green side feel guilty; once the costs of paper, printing and (for big business) recycling are counted, the economic and environmental impacts are staggering. This is not the first list of paperless tips ever created, nor will it be the last. That has not stopped us attempting to pull together some of the best tips already out there, some of our own and a couple of no-brainers that should help any business or individual take baby steps towards that enigmatic paperless state… Turn off your printer for a week… Or even just a day or two. “What!!!! But I need to print stuff out!!!” Of course we all do, but there are times when the printer breaks and can’t be fixed immediately and you just have to deal with it. See what you can get away with not printing and how nice it is not to have paper stacked up on your desk. At the end of your enforced period of NO PRINTING you will be surprised at how little you missed the printer in the corner. Ask Employees to account for their printing If you can, set up an ID system so that employees need to login to a printer queue to see who the major culprits are when it comes to over printing. It will ensure that users think twice about what they print and those that do print unnecessarily can be re-educated in their printer etiquette. Only print out exactly what you need – double sided Rather than printing out that entire 60 page document, only print out the sections you absolutely have to read, and when you do ensure it’s double-sided. Even better, set up all printer so that they ONLY print double-sided. Share printed documents Rather than emailing a document you want a colleague to read, share your own printed document and ask them to pass it round. You don’t all need a paper version, do you? Invest in large monitors or e-readers In the short-term, probably an expensive solution. But if you work in an industry that requires a lot of reading or close work then this is a long-term option to ensuring employees have the tools they need to complete tasks in a paperless working environment. Create a kick ass digital archive/data base It’s not always as easy as it sounds, but ensuring you and your business have a user-friendly, tidy and up to date digital archive can work wonders whether in the cloud or on a network. Often people print out documents in a bid to KEEP them. But, if they know that they can easily access document either online or within a company data base it removes the need to print to read later. Online Banking Is the Future Whether a business or an individual we should all be making use of the great online banking experiences banks offer today and stopping all paper statements. Not all banks have the ability to stop paper statement, but most do, and for those who don’t, vote with your fingers and send them an email asking them to make paperless banking a priority. No Junk Thanks None of us need the amount of take away flyer junk that comes through the letter box. Stop allowing junk mail into your home and office by heading them off at the pass and label your letterbox as a junk free zone. If you want to talk to us about how iPEGS can help your business achieve a paper existence then contact us. For more information about how iPEGS can help you and your business, please contact us info@ipegs.co.uk. If you are ready to go paperless, then sign up for an account HERE. This article was first published January 2015, but because it’s relevant, we decided to share again!