The Elusive Paperless Office

The final draft of this article was printed out as 11 pages of hard copy—that is, on humble sheets of paper.a During the editing process, the material was reprinted some 20 times. Finally, it was sent to about 80 translation teams around the world, after which each team printed out about six translation drafts. All in all, then, this article consumed more than 5,000 sheets of paper before it ever reached the printing presses!

THESE facts dramatically fly in the face of predictions made by some at the dawn of the computer age—namely, that “the paperless office” was imminent. In his book The Third Wave, futurist Alvin Toffler went so far as to declare that ‘making paper copies of anything was a primitive use of electronic word-processing machines and violated their very spirit.’ Interestingly, when International Business Machines Corporation introduced their original personal computer in 1981, they opted not to provide a printer. Some claim the company felt that users would be happy to read information on the computer monitor. At any rate, some envisioned “a paperless paradise”—that paper would soon be the stuff of museums and dusty archives.

Paperless Promises Versus Reality

In reality, though, the very equipment that was supposed to bring about the paperless office has buried us deeper and deeper in mounds of paper. In fact, some estimate that the overall consumption of paper has increased in recent years. Scott McCready, an analyst at International Data Corporation, says: “What we’ve done by automating our offices is increase our ability to produce paper at a growing rate of more than 25 percent per year.” Personal computers, printers, fax machines, E-mail, copiers, and the Internet have dramatically increased the volume of information that many people deal with—and print—every day. Worldwide in 1998, according to CAP Ventures, Inc., there were 218 million printers, 69 million fax machines, 22 million multifunction machines (printer, scanner, and copier in one), 16 million scanners, and 12 million copiers.

In his 1990 book, Powershift, Toffler estimated that in one year the United States produced 1.3 trillion documents—enough to wallpaper the Grand Canyon 107 times! By all accounts, the numbers are getting bigger. According to one source, by 1995 the United States was producing close to 600 million documents a day—enough to fill a file drawer 170 miles [270 km] long. As the year 2000 dawns, there is little evidence that the tide is turning; most information is still communicated on paper.

Why Paper Persists

What went wrong with the predictions that electronics would replace paper? The International Paper company ventures a guess, saying: “People don’t just want information at their fingertips. They want it on their fingertips. They want to be able to touch, fold and dog-ear; to fax, copy and refer to; scribble in the margins or post proudly on the refrigerator door. And, above all, they want to print out—quickly, flawlessly and in vibrant color.”

It must be admitted that paper has definite advantages. It is portable, cheap, stable, easy to archive, and recyclable. It is also very easy to navigate—you can see what page you are on and how many pages you have left. “People are in love with paper. They want to feel it in their hands,” says Dan Cox, a representative of a company that sells office supplies. “We have seen people try to achieve the paperless office,” says Jerry Mallory, records analyst with the Arizona Department of Libraries, Archives and Public Records. “But all the thousands of computers we see all have one thing in common: They’re all hooked up to at least one printer.”

Then, too, old habits die hard. The people in business today grew up learning how to read on the printed page. A document or an E-mail can be printed with just one click of the mouse and then read at the holder’s convenience, no matter where he or she may be at the time. Printed material can be taken many places that most computers cannot be used comfortably—anywhere from a bed to a bathtub to a beach blanket!

Another factor: Computers have made it easy for people to create the kind of documents that not long ago only professional printers could produce. Anything from full-color copies, drafts, and reports to illustrated presentations, charts, graphs, business cards, and postcards can be produced with minimal effort. Such capabilities invite experimentation. So after a computer user prints out a document, he may be tempted to change the font and design and print it again. This may be followed by further revisions and, you guessed it, more printouts!

The Internet has also contributed to this situation by giving people access to virtually unlimited data.b Inevitably, this translates into heavy paper consumption, as Internet users often print out hard copy of their research finds.

Not to be overlooked either is the fact that the current flood of computer software and equipment requires more and more how-to books. Widespread use of computers has created a deluge of such manuals and computer magazines.

It must also be admitted that reading from a digital display—especially on older monitors—can have its drawbacks. Some users still complain of eyestrain. At any rate, it has been estimated that the resolution on older video display units would have to be improved tenfold for them to produce excellent visual quality.

Additionally, for some, a piece of paper may seem much more critical and important—of far greater immediacy and impact—than something you see on a screen. A printed document seems to substantiate one’s work and effort, putting it in tangible form. A physical document placed in the hands of one’s supervisor or client may even receive more attention and get more of a reaction than an electronic message.

Finally, many people fear that they will lose data. And such fear is often justified. In spite of all the sophisticated back-up systems that now exist, precious words that represent hours of work can still be at the mercy of a power surge, a crashing disk, or a clumsy keystroke. Most people, therefore, consider paper to be more secure. Interestingly, some experts claim that electronic records will be readable for only a fraction of the 200-to-300-year life expectancy of acid-free paper. True, electronic information degrades very slowly. But technology is developing rapidly. And as obsolescent hardware and software are scrapped, it may become increasingly difficult to read older computer records.

Whether or not the dream of the paperless office will materialize thus remains to be seen. In the meantime, it is clear that, to borrow a phrase from Mark Twain, the reports of paper’s death may have been greatly exaggerated.

Will We Kill Off All the Trees?

How many sheets of paper can be made from a single tree? Although a number of variables are involved—such as the tree size and type and the type and weight of the paper—it has been estimated that one market-size pulpwood tree makes about 12,000 sheets of standard writing or printing paper. Even so, the vast quantities of paper presently being consumed still raise the specter of barren, denuded forests. Are we really heading for an ecological crisis?

Paper manufacturers caution against panic in this regard. They are quick to point out that a large amount of paper—as much as 50 percent in some lands—is made from wood chips, waste products of the lumber industry that would otherwise end up in landfills. Not only that, as wood chips decompose, they emit methane, a greenhouse gas associated with global warming. Paper manufacturing thus puts these chips to good use. Environmental and consumer groups respond, though, by accusing the paper industry of creating pollution and mismanaging forests. They argue that the fuels used in paper manufacturing produce greenhouse gases! They also point out that as wastepaper degrades in landfills, additional greenhouse gases are produced.

Nevertheless, a study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development concluded that it is possible to produce necessary amounts of paper without depleting the earth’s resources. For one thing, trees are renewable, and paper is recyclable. Even so, the study emphasized that “further changes will have to be made to industrial practices within each stage of the paper cycle—forest management, pulp and paper production, paper usage, recycling, energy recovery, and final disposal.” In an effort to produce environmentally sound and economically viable pulp, the paper industry is also looking to such alternatives as wheat straw, fast-growing trees, corn, and hemp. To what extent such measures will be applied—and prove effective—remains to be seen.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 27]

How to Reduce Paper Waste at the Office

✔ Print as little as possible. Review and modify documents on the screen. Minimize the number of hard copies and paper drafts you make.

✔ For larger documents, use smaller font sizes that are still readable.

✔ If your printer uses a test or banner page whenever it is turned on or is printing a document, disable this feature.

✔ Recycle wastepaper.

✔ Before recycling paper that has print on only one side, set it aside to use later, either in printing drafts or for scrap paper.

✔ Make double-sided prints or copies whenever possible.

✔ When documents must be shared within an office, try circulating them instead of making a copy for each person.

✔ To eliminate the need for hard copy, send faxes directly from your computer. When you must fax using hard copies, save paper by not using a cover sheet.

✔ Avoid needless printing of E-mail messages.

[Picture on page 24]

Some argue that the very equipment that was supposed to bring about the paperless office has buried us even deeper in paper

[Picture on page 26]

At times, the printed page is easier to use than a computer display