TMCnews Featured Article

The idea of turning your environment into a paperless office sounds appealing, but attempts throughout the years continue to fall short. It’s a common story throughout the global marketplace, but it’s not without hope. Whether your aim is to save the environment or simply reduce the amount of money spent on paper, there are technologies available to get you a little closer to the paperless office ideal.

The good news is that the constant trend toward mobility and IP communications has helped in this endeavor. The IP fax is one example of how technology can be leveraged to advance the paperless office concept without sacrificing access to the capabilities you need to drive daily business processes. Even if paper is the preferred medium for communication, it can be put through the IP fax for digital storage and use.

Without some sort of incentive, however, employees aren’t likely to move in this direction. Access to printed documents, especially in full color, is often viewed as a free resource and therefore efficient use generally isn’t in the cards. When too many documents are printed, however, the individual runs into the same problem as others – information overload without proper organizational plans.

Reducing the number of pages printed or stored in the office is good for everyone. Paper takes up space and the cost to produce each page can have a significant impact on the budget if not managed according to need. Removing paper from the office completely, however, isn’t generally an option. Instead, the office needs to adopt methods for reduction that are easy to integrate into the current workflow.

For many, this process of paper reduction includes the adoption of multifunction peripherals (MFPs) that consolidate the printer fleet with more efficient machines. An MFP blends copy, print, scan and fax capabilities, and is often connected to the network to allow for the transfer of information through digital means. Many of these devices are backed up by intelligent print management software that can play an important role in the sustainability of the office. Such solutions can provide secure pull printing, rules-based printing, cost recovery, scan workflow and reporting.

MFPs often embrace IP fax technology. In other words, the same flexibility and protected exchange of information enjoyed with the traditional analog fax machine is also enjoyed with its digital counterpart. In this case, the information exchanged can be printed if needed, or stored on the network. It provides for an opportunity to both be more efficient and eliminate the cost of printing. When done repeatedly, the cost savings add up.

At the end of the day, the paperless office may never come to complete fruition. If you can take the necessary steps to at least reduce the costs associated with paper use, however, you’re likely to discover much more efficiency in the process.