SAVE PAPER - Please do not print this e-mail unless necessary

ajr

Well-known member
"SAVE PAPER - Please do not print this e-mail unless necessary.:

I get fed up seeing this on the bottom of peoples emails, I haven't heard of the great paper shortage!

People need better education.

Should we start a petition?

AjR
 
I usually print two copies when I see that. ; )

Kidding, but I print a lot of emails, to use for documentation purposes.
I haven't ran out of paper yet. We have a whole warehouse full.
 
It's a funny thing, McDonald's doesn't run out of french fries because farmers keep planting potatoes.

I had a designer with the same crap on her emails, yet each item she designed had full bleeds that required a percentage of the paper to be thrown in the "trash". I pointed that out to her and she got all up tight. I told her I was amused that she didn't want me to print her stupid email, yet it's OK to scrap paper for her customer that would be equal to about 1000 prints of her email?????
 
I'm all for saving the planet but every time someone thinks we are saving tree, water, endanger species, etc... we just end up neglecting something else and the process just shifts attention from one to another instead of actually solving anything.

People thinks they are saving trees, air, etc by going paperless and using more email often forget they are now using more electricity to run their devices to check email, IM, twitter, etc. Where does that electricity come from huh? I'm waiting for someone to claim ebooks will save trees. That would be a good laugh for me!
 
I don't think the assumption here is related to a paper shortage per se, but the overall environmental footprint associated with paper usage. And although I think one could argue the effectiveness of these tag lines, and the assumptions and intrusiveness that go along with it, I don't think there's really any question that using less paper has a net positive effect on the environment. We're all using electronics and email already, but eliminating unnecessary printing reduces paper usage, as well as the ink/toner/electricity and that whole portion of the footprint that goes with it.

I'm waiting for someone to claim ebooks will save trees. That would be a good laugh for me!

The Environmental Impact of Ebooks | Self-Publishing Review

The real question is will they catch on in order to have any significant effect.
 
Maybe instead:

Use paper responsibly!

Maybe there should be an environmental charge each time we do a reprint because the client has cocked up.


AjR
 
Thanks for the reminder to kill this off of my e-mail signature. I've been meaning to do that for ages.

My problem with these types of signature messages is that they add to the line count enough that additional pages may end up printing.

So, any net benefit of an email not getting printed because someone was inspired by the message is outweighed by the more probable occurrence of extra sheets printing because of the message.

Don't you just love working in the recycling business?
 
That message drives me crazy! Also irritating is that stupid tree and road graphic that inevitably accompanies the tagline as an attachment. I'm usually already irritated enough by the sender's inability to conform to the corporate template for the signature.

I'd much rather have a warning along the lines of "Please don't send or forward stupid emails unless absolutely necessary."
 
At the Print 09 Teachers Conference this past weekend, one person got up to state that they created their own email footer that said something to the effect.

Printing this email will do less environmental damage than running the computer that you're using for 1 minute. The paper is fully recyclable and sustainable, the computer will end up in a landfill releasing toxins into the environment.

Sorry I didn't take notes on it, but I think I got the gist of his argument.
 
Save electricty

Save electricty

I came across these forum posts while searching for a website on the sustainability of print. Good discussion! I must admit I too was guilty of attempting to save trees with the end of email line you discussed. Last night I read a great book that explains how print helps keep our forests growing. I haven't been able to locate the book or corresponding website online or I would have posted it, but I resolved to remove the "Save Paper and Trees – Print this e-mail only if it is necessary" from my signature (done) and begin educating my students as to how print actually helps save trees. I think I will post a new signature, based on the one I saw here in a previous post...the one about 1 minute of electricity vs. printing the email and toxins in our landfills from discarded computers.

So anyhow, I wanted to say thanks for sharing that information and offer my apologies for having been part of the problem. I now hope to be part of the solution. I think many people are simply misinformed about this issue and would reconsider print if they only knew.
 
Real email signature

Real email signature

I had to chime in.

One of our customers (we do print and mailings primarily) has this as his email signature - I love it!

"Please note: It is OK to print this e-mail. Paper is a biodegradable, renewable and sustainable product made from trees. Growing and harvesting trees provides jobs for millions of people, and working forests are good for the environment. Working forests provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat and carbon storage."

But I do use both sides of the page when possible, and think before I hit "Print".

:)
 
It's like the people who say "buy american, and "keep jobs in america, don't outsource" then go out and shop at Wal-Mart, quite possibly the biggest importer of foreign goods not to mention the fact that they treat their employees the worst.
 
To right Oxburger, Walmart is definitely part of the evil empire.

Just don't get me started on on all this ecological sustainability thing when the paper that a lot of offices are using is coming from Indonesia and Asia. How can transporting this stuff thousands of miles be environmentally friendly? It still blows me away that they can still sell their product at a lower cost than what's available here. Makes you wonder what their operating/employee costs are . . .

We use stuff made on the West Coast by a local Mill.

Grays Harbor Paper | Environmentally Friendly Recycled Paper

Unfortunately not every paper buyer either has this option locally or is unaware of what they are actually buying.
 

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