You hear all day every day, and probably even say it yourself, how important it is to reduce waste and become paper-free. As a business, it can be really hard to do that, as, as much as you don’t want to admit it – especially if you’re a digital company, paper can be an integral part of your day-to-day.
Office/agency life
If your company operates from an office, you can be one of the biggest paper (and even printer ink) users with your employees printing endless pages, taking notes in meetings on notepads (let’s face it, handwritten notes are always the best), and even printing boards for client presentations – all of which are highly likely to end up in the recycling bin in the not too distant future.
However, they are also extremely important to the success of your business. For example, without the printing of pages or even note-taking, your employees might not be as efficient at their jobs, and without the boards for your client meeting, the meeting might be a flop.
Numbers, numbers, numbers
As an accountant, in-house or a firm offering other companies accounting services, you wouldn’t be able to get by without printing invoices and other important documents, as having a record and storing these for a minimum number of years, is a ‘must-do’ part of the process.
Communications, big or small
Sometimes an email or telephone call is not enough and a letter or leaflet needs to be printed. Think of all those bits and bobs you receive in the post as an individual; car insurance documents, council tax bills, and even the local takeaway leaflet. All printed on paper – glossy or plain A4 – without them, how else would you find out that your favourite Indian or pizza parlour are offering a half-price discount?! Yes, they could promote it on social media or even on the local radio, but as much as we all find those leaflets a tad annoying, we all end up keeping them and ‘filing’ them in the kitchen drawer. Good marketing or not, you decide!
A time to be fancy or tough
For other businesses, printed letters or invitations can be an important part of communicating with their target audience. For example, if you’re launching or having an event to celebrate a milestone, you want to impress your clients and attendees with a beautifully printed invitation – an email invite just won’t do!
Clients not paying on time? As much as you can chase them via email or telephone, there’s something magical about a printed and posted letter with big red writing on it, and as soon as it’s received, money just seems to appear in your bank.
Proof of purchase
As a manufacturer, you need to provide your customer with a proof of purchase on delivery of your goods or services, especially if you are sending items to them in the post where damage is a potential risk. Each and every customer has the right to return an item if it is faulty, not as described or doesn’t do what it is supposed to do, and without this printed proof, they might not be able to do so, so it is your responsibility to make sure they have the opportunity to.
