OkiPrintMyRide

Every year offices spend more money in archiving, disposing, and storing paper products. Paper is a culprit of sacrificing the Earth’s resources and a junky and cluttered office! Several offices have started to convert into a paperless office that uses electronic and ‘virtual’ forms of storage to reduce paper usage and to become more organized. Here are tips to start the transition, and bring your office out from the piles of paper it currently is lost under.

• Use electronic archiving: Depending on your current office and their archiving process of important papers and documents, different methods will work better. Instead of storing papers in filing cabinets and storage rooms, start having paperwork scanned, categorized and placed on CD’s, DVD’s or other electronic means that works well for your office. There are several online based companies that will take your receipts, and paperwork and archive them and put them into a Microsoft Office – Excel, Word, Money, format, and then you can shred the paper versions.
• Use electronic communication instead of paper: Do away with paper calendars in the office, and memorandums that are sent to coworkers in-boxes. When setting up meetings, and checking in or out on the sign out sheet, convert to electronic messaging, meetings, and calendars to keep coworkers in the loop. Electronic versions can be synced with coworkers electronic schedules and will save the excuse – ‘I must have not got that message’.
• Convert your clients to paperless systems: Whether you’re a doctor’s office or you sell paper products, if you have clients and or customers you can help convert them to a paperless system. Many stores like the Apple store have already implemented a receipt system that can be emailed to you. In your office consider getting an electronic sign in computer like many pharmacies use, and ask clients/customers if they’d like to sign up for newsletters or coupons by email.  This will help your office convert to a paperless system easier, and your customers will appreciate your conscientious shift to a greener environment.
• Wean off of notepads and scrap paper: Who doesn’t get in the habit of reaching for a notepad anytime they need to jot down a note? Notepads can waste a lot of paper, plus you have to keep up with the paper once you’ve jotted it down. Try to use electronic smart phones, PDA’s or electronic tablets/computers to jot down your information. You can keep all your ideas in one place and save paper at the same time.

Your office doesn’t have to go through withdrawal to convert over to a paperless one. Once this lifestyle shift occurs at your office, the tendency to carry on similar practices at home will soon be natural. Saving paper, space, money and the Earth’s resources are all great reasons to transition your office to a paperless environment.

It’s not very often that I snare a bargain but I can very enthusiastically say that this time, I did.

My HP printer, copier, scanner had been playing up for months. It was a sad saga of frustration, rage and near violence. Yes, I admit it, I very nearly threw it out the window: before the window was opened. Every time I tried to print something out, I had problems. I’d go through the procedure, File, Print, get the box up, tell it how many pages to print, what size to print and GO! Nothing! I’d wait. And wait, watching the flashing light on the printer telling me it was out of paper. It wasn’t, there was half a ream in it. Wait. Go and make a cup of tea. Take the paper out and put it back in. Try again, File, Print, etc, etc. GO! Wait.

Blinking light telling me it was out of paper. GRRRR!

Go to Control Panel, Printers, double click on my printer. AH! Jobs in the queue. The very ones I’d tried to print. Highlight ‘Resume Printing’ and enter. Wait. Wait. Nothing. Highlight ‘cancel all printing’ to try again. Wouldn’t cancel! Still the same list. Unplug the printer. Wait ten minutes. Another cup of tea. Plug the printer back in. Wait for it to settle. Go back to the document. Go through the routine. File, Print, etc, etc. GO! Nothing. Wait. Nothing but a blinking light, No paper. Wait. Go to Control Panel, Printers. Click on my printer. Double click, Jobs in the queue. Same jobs plus the one I tried to do a moment ago. Resume Printing. Nothing. Stop, Shut down the computer and the printer, mouthing obscenities. Unplug them both. Wife shouts, ‘You’re blood pressure must be through the roof.’ Snarl as I go out the garden. Wait half an hour. Go and cut the lawn, seething in anger.

Rage

Cutting the lawn helps, calms me down. Wife looks at me as I come back inside. ‘That computer was the worst thing you ever brought in this house.’

Tell me about it! Plug it all back in again and boot up. Back to the document. The ‘no paper’ light is at it again. Grit my teeth, go back to control panel, printers, jobs in line. Same jobs. ‘Resume Printing,’ Clicks, bangs whirring noise! It’s working! Yes! I kneel on the floor and kow tow to it, ‘Oh, great one, thank you for blessing me with your presence.’ It proceeds to print the whole list of jobs. But I don’t want three copies of the damned thing, I only want one. It takes no notice of my rantings and will not allow me to print what I want. I end up knee deep in paper as it churns out the whole queue. I’m dancing in rage when my wife comes in the room. ‘Is that a war dance or are you just practising for Strictly Come Dancing?’ I collapse in a gibbering heap, throwing pages in the air and frothing at the mouth.

Buy a new one.

Nothing for it! Get on ebay and find a new printer, copier, scanner. Hundreds on there. Work down the list. What! A brand new one, boxed, guaranteed, going for £5. It’s a Canon Pixma MP 140. This can’t be right! A new printer, copier, scanner for £5.($7) Yes It is! I buy it and it’s an all singing, all dancing one. What a bargain. OK, the shipping was £12 ($17), but hey, it came within two days. The cartridges were refurbished ones, guaranteed and only £10 ($14)  for the two.