{"id":4121,"date":"2021-02-22T07:59:17","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T07:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/?p=4121"},"modified":"2021-02-22T07:59:30","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T07:59:30","slug":"toning-down-wasteful-printing-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/en\/tech_innovation\/toning-down-wasteful-printing-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Toning Down Wasteful Printing Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Toning Down Wasteful Printing Habits\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kfoLwlkvKs4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever stopped and considered how many kinds of paper we use and handle on a daily basis? Newspaper, office-printed paper, parking cards, bills, banknotes, receipts, books, napkins, bags, food packaging, toilet paper, and health certificates (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic) are some of the common paper-based products we hardly give a second thought to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of 2018, the total global production of paper and cardboard was about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/270314\/production-of-paper-and-cardboard-in-selected-countries\/\">420 million tons per year<\/a>, but this amount is expected to rise. In fact, researchers speculated this number would reach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/earth-and-planetary-sciences\/pulp-and-paper-industry\">490 million tons<\/a> by 2020. But for a world so entrenched in the digital age, this amount feels excessive and unnecessary, and it should be within the realm of possibility to eliminate much of the paper we use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, Israeli company, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epapersign.com\/\">ePaper Ltd.<\/a> has developed technology that can reduce the environmental footprint of office work, and it has a positive effect on office paper consumption habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Plight of the Paper Industry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2558\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-768x767.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bas-emmen-WIi25QVXIKs-unsplash-edited-2048x2046.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption><em>&#8220;As of 2018, the total global production of paper and cardboard was about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/270314\/production-of-paper-and-cardboard-in-selected-countries\/\">420 million tons per year<\/a>, but this amount is expected to rise.&#8221; Photo by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@mediavormgever?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Bas Emmen<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@mediavormgever?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of the many other products and services we freely use today\u2014for instance plastics, electricity, transportation, etc. One similarity they all share is their neglected environmental costs. Because peoples\u2019 demand for goods and services frequently trumps the needs of the environment, their environmental cost simply gets overlooked. Paper is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the paper industry is considered to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/earth-and-planetary-sciences\/pulp-and-paper-industry\">one of the most polluting industries<\/a> as it is responsible for creating very large amounts of solid and liquid waste during production and throughout paper\u2019s entire <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainability.ceres.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2013\/05\/CERES-Life-Cycle-of-Paper-Activity.pdf\">life cycle<\/a>. The production process also causes the release of many environmentally hazardous substances, such as chlorine compounds, effluents, inks, and bleach, which often pollute nearby land and water supplies. Producing paper also takes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ijert.org\/research\/environmental-impact-of-paper-industry-IJERTCONV3IS20096.pdf\">twice the amount of energy<\/a> used to produce a plastic bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also no surprise that paper demand encourages deforestation and rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide as a result. In the United States, for example, the paper industry is the <ins><a href=\"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-same-old-process-but-much-cleaner-international-paper\/\">fourth largest source<\/a><\/ins> of greenhouse gas emissions among manufacturing industries and contributes <a href=\"https:\/\/environmentalpaper.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/state-of-the-paper-industry-2007-full.pdf\">9%<\/a> of total manufacturing carbon dioxide emissions. About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ijert.org\/research\/environmental-impact-of-paper-industry-IJERTCONV3IS20096.pdf\">93%<\/a> of the raw material for paper production comes from trees, and about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ijert.org\/research\/environmental-impact-of-paper-industry-IJERTCONV3IS20096.pdf\">42%<\/a> of all the trees felled in the world are used to make paper. Research also shows that one average-sized tree yields roughly 8,000 white pages after production. Improvements in pulp processing technology have also enabled nearly all types of trees, softwood and hardwood species, to be harvestable for paper production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paper production is also water intensive. Even to produce just one standard sheet of A4 paper requires a minimum of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azeusconvene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-papers\/Environmental-Costs-of-Using-Paper-in-the-Office-An-Overview.pdf\">1.5 cups of water<\/a>. This may not seem like much until you put this into perspective. To produce one standard ream of paper, which contains 500 sheets, means that more than 177 liters (750 cups) of water are used in its production, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What makes matters worse if the fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azeusconvene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-papers\/Environmental-Costs-of-Using-Paper-in-the-Office-An-Overview.pdf\">45%<\/a> of all paper printed in offices ends up trashed the same day according to data gathered by <a href=\"https:\/\/snowbound.com\/resources\/articles\/business-benefits-industry-information\/paperless-office-its-time-has-come#:~:text=The%20Paperless%20Project%20is%20one,content%20management%20and%20imaging%20technologies.\">The Paperless Project<\/a>, a coalition of companies focusing on changing the way organizations and businesses use paper and e-content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe paper production process requires very large amounts of energy and water,\u201d says Prof. Ofira Ayalon of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Haifa and Director of the Environment at the <a href=\"http:\/\/neaman.org.il\/en\/Home#:~:text=Samuel%20Neaman%20Institute%20is%20a,education%2C%20economy%20and%20industry%2C%20and\">Samuel Neaman Institute<\/a>. Although most of the wood used to make paper is usually planted and cultivated for this specific purpose, the cost to maintain growth and reach desirable quality outweighs the benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUltimately, you invest more resources into wood than you get from it, whether it&#8217;s water, fertilizers, or pesticides. In a net calculation, forests need a lot of resources,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Less Printing, More Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mahrous-houses-5AoOejjRUrA-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mahrous-houses-5AoOejjRUrA-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mahrous-houses-5AoOejjRUrA-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mahrous-houses-5AoOejjRUrA-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mahrous-houses-5AoOejjRUrA-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mahrous-houses-5AoOejjRUrA-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>&#8220;Producing paper also takes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ijert.org\/research\/environmental-impact-of-paper-industry-IJERTCONV3IS20096.pdf\">twice the amount of energy<\/a> used to produce a plastic bag.&#8221; Photo by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@mahrous_houses?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Mahrous Houses<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/printer?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to The Paperless Project, the amount of paper an average business uses grows by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azeusconvene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-papers\/Environmental-Costs-of-Using-Paper-in-the-Office-An-Overview.pdf\">22%<\/a> per year as of 2017, which means office paper consumption expectedly doubles within 3.3 years. Paper consumption has grown so much that the average office worker in the UK uses about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azeusconvene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-papers\/Environmental-Costs-of-Using-Paper-in-the-Office-An-Overview.pdf\">10,000 sheets of paper each year.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get paper use under control, entrepreneurs and companies are trying to reduce paper waste and change printing habits in office spaces. In addition, many companies and factories are engaged in paper recycling\u2014turning used paper into pulp and turning that into the highest quality paper as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, according to Ayalon, even recycled paper is not free of environmental damage. \u201cIt\u2019s true we save paper from being wasted in a landfill, but the recycling process requires the use of lots of energy to collect the paper and transport it to the recycling plant. And very large amounts of water are used in this process as well, which creates paper sludge, a waste that needs to be disposed of. This too must be taken into account,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ePaper\u2019s solution to excessive paper consumption focuses on reducing consumption at the source by developing solutions for tighter security and control of printing systems in large businesses and organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur technology is unique in that it handles the entire array of prints, printers, document management, and distribution methods,\u201d says Belal Lehwany, founder and CEO of ePaper Ltd who has established three different printing companies in the last 15 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFirst, it turns the printing operation into a generic operation. In other words, the document is not sent to a particular printer, but to a virtual printer from which it can be pulled to any printer within the particular organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe approach to reducing paper use not only addresses paper consumption in offices, but it also has an impact in other areas,\u201d says Shiri Hefer, environmental economist at <a href=\"https:\/\/dhvmed.com\/\">DHVMED Environmental Consulting and Engineering<\/a>. \u201cFor example, printers have significant energy consumption costs. Therefore, choosing a quality machine with good energy efficiency can save about 43% of office power consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe made the whole printing process monitored,\u201d says Lehwany. \u201cThe organization has the ability to know who printed, what was printed, when, and how much. Thus, people develop awareness, thought, and personal responsibility for the printed content and the amount of paper they consume at work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe system can generate reports that quantify the amount of paper and energy consumed in the company in a given period and even calculate the corresponding amount of wood that was cut, the amount of energy consumed and saved, and how much toner is consumed and saved,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to company data, customers using this technology saved an average of 35% in paper pages. \u201cFor example, A company in Phoenix, who uses our technology, sent about 40 million pages for printing in about four years. Following the transition to our technology, they saved about 8 million unprinted pages,&#8221; says Natalie Searle, ePaper\u2019s vice president of operations. \u201cBased on the calculation we made, we saw the company saved the felling of 800 trees. In addition, it also reduced carbon dioxide emissions and saved energy and money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eco-Friendly Offices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to adopt an environmentally oriented culture in companies\u2014one that doesn\u2019t encourage unnecessary paper printing, but saves additional resources instead,\u201d Hefer explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, companies should not settle for just one technical solution. Rather, they should branch out and adjust other areas within their offices that promote wasteful tendencies; a recommendation echoed by experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor example, companies can set to switch to two-sided printing only, use large computer screens in meetings instead of printing whole documents, choose toners that can be filled several times, use smart office management systems, and more,\u201d Hefer adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat is particularly successful with a paperless office approach is that the transition and change in corporate culture doesn\u2019t add to the company&#8217;s expenses. In fact, it saves money in the long run because these technologies are not particularly expensive today,\u201d concludes Hefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This ZAVIT Article was also published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.israel21c.org\/the-print-technology-that-tackles-wasteful-printing-habits\/\">Israel21c<\/a> on 16 Feb. 2021<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever stopped and considered how many kinds of paper we use and handle on a daily basis? Newspaper, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":4134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,11],"tags":[],"acf":[],"post-meta-fields":{"_edit_lock":["1613980770:118"],"_oembed_d2badf1596f06da0fffe560149d0d587":["<iframe title=\"Toning Down Wasteful Printing Habits\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kfoLwlkvKs4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>"],"_oembed_time_d2badf1596f06da0fffe560149d0d587":["1613979032"],"_thumbnail_id":["4134"],"_edit_last":["118"],"subtitle":["With demand for paper rising, so too are deforestation rates as well as paper-related waste. In response to this growing issue, Israeli company, ePaper Ltd. is marketing innovative technology to large companies and government ministries that encourages and minimizes paper use."],"_subtitle":["field_59d3d36ea7fe1"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4121"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4143,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4121\/revisions\/4143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}