How To Save Paper

One of the largest, and easiest to reduce, expenses for businesses is paper. Almost everything used to require paper, from invoices to sales documents to HR forms. In today’s world, with paperless technology, your business can significantly reduce its paper expenses—increasing your profit margin while keeping the environment healthy.

Not sure where to start with paper reduction? Consider these ideas:

• Use print preview: Before haphazardly printing long documents, use the print preview function. This may seem like common sense, but many people don’t do this. Print preview lets you preview pages before printing; after using this tool, you might discover you only need to print a portion of the pages.
• Email information to yourself: Not every document must be a hard copy. If possible, email what you need to yourself and download it to your computer.
• Recycle: Didn’t use print preview? Wound up with 13 pages you don’t need? No need to panic; recycle these sheets to save the paper. And once you’re done with any documents, make sure to recycle anyway.
• Single space documents: Double-spacing papers is the classic format, but by double spacing, you can double the amount of paper you’re using. Single space whenever possible.
• Set wider margins: Like double-spacing, the traditional page margins aren’t best for saving paper. If you can, use the widest margins.
• Check work before printing: It’s happened to everyone. You press print and immediately notice a typo. You fix that error, print again, only to find another mistake. Now that all the errors are fixed, you might want to change the layout or font. More paper wasted. Always check your work before printing, and have someone else look at it, if necessary.

Implementing some of these ideas might require a company-wide culture or mentality shift. That’s fine; take the time to use these strategies effectively.

What are some of the benefits of using less paper?

• Save space: Paper is tangible and requires storage space, sometimes multiple filing cabinets full. Reducing the amount of paper in the office can save space and, if you’re lucky, allow you to move a smaller, less-expensive office.
• Lower maintenance costs: Printers and copiers both require periodic maintenance. Is this is your budget? Do you want it in your budget? You can reduce or eliminate this expense by making a conscious effort to use less paper.
• Improved document security: Paper documents aren’t secure. Anyone could slip out of the office with one and it wouldn’t be seen again. With the right safety measures, paperless offices protect the information they need to more effectively.

formsRus works with a variety of businesses in the United States and Canada on paperless office and electronic forms solutions. For more information about how we can assist your business, contact us today!

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