I'm trying to get back to the paperless office?

...which we had before computers. Remember the paperless office which computers were supposed to give us? Well every year I and my colleagues generate more and more papers because the more people use computers the more documents they send and the more you have to print out the stuff they send.

Why do I print it out? Not sure. Could be:

It's easier to deal with information in hard copy form.
It's easier to file it and find it again.

Whatever the reason, it's not good for the environment, or for office space for that matter. Any tips?

The paperless office is a FARCE. But here is how it can work.

1. Automate as much as you can to reduce the amount of paper that your business needs during the processing cycle.
2. Realize what you need and how often.
3. At some point, consider aged documents and have them scanned in.
- of course, that takes energy to scan them, and takes more energy to keep that storage device alive... turned on and accessible. But at some point you can have the old documents shredded... using even more energy.
- Consider your building. If you line the outer walls with file cabinets, all of that paper will serve as insulation. Maybe you really do need that paper to reduce energy costs.
- The same goes for electronic filing of e-mail. You work twice as hard to manage that file server; when significant printouts can be filed.

You see, some businesses MUST keep all of their e-mails, as if it's paper. This is especially true for financial companies that deal with market quotations and offerings. The reliability and maintenance of those systems are crucial, but use energy. A good old file cabinet is done burning fossil fuel.

Consider getting ALL LCD Flat Panel monitors. Consider automating the office lighting with more efficient lights. Consider making the building heating/cooling system more efficient. Train your employees about making more efficient use of their computers and turning them OFF at night and weekends. Add a lot more RAM, so the computers run faster and more efficiently.

Good luck and Happy Computing!

The paperless office is a myth. We went computersied in Tayside Police in the 1990's. The stack of paper just got bigger and bigger.

well make sure you have everything saved on a back ups. Keep only the the most important documents you know you will need to see. Or you could put things in those portable files lable them and store them a way in a storage space if you guyz have them. Then get 2 shreddn!!!!!

Use a file server. I have me and all my colleagues work on a file server and its so easy. You just have to save or update a file and its updated to the file server where your colleagues can retrieve it.