Recent Blog Posts

May 20
000

Digital versus Paper: Which Will Win Out in the Long Run?

By Paige Wills in Facts About The Paper Industry, Why Choose Paper?

 
Detail of Preamble to Constitution of the Unit...

Detail of Preamble to Constitution of the United States Polski: Fragment preambuły Konstytucji Stanów Zjednoczonych (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I recently had a conversation with a tech-savvy person. He asked me what I thought would win out in the long run: paper or digital technologies. A year ago, I might have said digital. However, now, I don’t think that is the case.

If you think about it, our society depends heavily on paper-based communication. Even though digital technologies are becoming more prevalent, I just don’t see them winning out in the long run. My primary reasoning is that there is an uncertainty about technology. What if the screen goes blank? What if I get a virus and lose everything? This uncertainty is what I believe will keep paper at the forefront. In addition, if you think about it, our society spends a lot of money preserving paper. For example, the Constitution of the United States, the King James Bible, and photographs just to name a few.

Technology usually becomes outdated within a couple of years or so. Then what happens? Maybe a couple of each game-changing product is preserved for museums. The rest are either recycled or sent to the less fortunate. Even though what is written on the paper may become outdated, it usually doesn’t make it irrelevant. Books have a much longer life-expectancy than most technology does.

Now I don’t think technology or paper will become obsolete in the long run. I believe both will and should complement each other.

Share your thoughts on this topic. In the long run, do you think paper or digital technologies will win out or do you think it will be a combination?

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
 
 
Comment On This
 
May 15
002

Study Proves Printed Envelope Preferred Choice Over E-mail

By Paige Wills in Facts About The Paper Industry, Why Choose Paper?

 
A drawing of an envelope

A drawing of an envelope (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The debate facing many corporations today is whether or not to stick with traditional mail marketing, switch to e-mail marketing or maybe a combination of both.  According to an article on piworld.com titled, “Nielsen Study Proves the Impact and Attraction of the Printed Envelope,” customers still value the printed envelope.

According to the article, the study confirms the unique aspects of the printed envelope. Here is a short excerpt from the article demonstrating the success of the envelope.

“The study shows that the printed envelope stood up during the whole purchase decision process. The envelope is most effective in drawing attention and generates the highest number of readers compared with the standard envelope, the self-mailer, the wrapper and the email.”

The article and study found:

  • The printed envelope: the medium for success.
  • Printed envelopes influence the purchase decision the most.
  • Young recipients prefer envelopes – as long as they are personalized.
  • The customized enveloped has to become more efficient.

According to the article, speed of delivery is one of the drawbacks. However, if marketers can get printed materials to consumers in a reasonable amount of time, Phillip Schilling, managing director of RAPP Germany, an international advertising agency, said the envelope will improve its future standing in society.

Here is another short excerpt from the article:

“Schilling suggests that the Nielsen study shows that if envelope-based communication can manage to combine its high quality with individualization and a reduced time-to-mailbox, it will increasingly be the medium of choice when addressing customers directly.”

I think an envelope adds suspense to what’s inside. Although we may know it is “junk mail,” we still can’t be sure unless we open it. An e-mail is kind of like receiving a Christmas or birthday present without wrapping. Without the wrapping, the surprise of what’s inside is spoiled.

What are your thoughts? Do you prefer e-mail marketing or paper-based marketing?

Enhanced by Zemanta
 
 
Comment On This
 
May 14
000

Will Paper Prevail in Today’s Digital Society?

By Paige Wills in Facts About The Paper Industry, Why Choose Paper?

 
A stack of copy paper.

A stack of copy paper. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In today’s ever-changing digital society, many think old-fashioned paper will soon be a thing of the past. However, according to an article by Douglas Hanks of the Miami Harold titled “Paper appears to be winning battle to digitize paperwork,” “Walk through the modern new document depository in Medley, Fla., and one thing becomes clear: Paper can be a hard habit to break.”

According to the article, the company can scan millions of pieces of paperwork; however, a lot of their business includes storing paperwork.

Here is a short excerpt from the article that explains the vast amount of paper stored:

“The warehouse now contains roughly 10 million files and 500 million pieces of paper. They fill 90 rows of shelves 30 feet tall, running the length of two football fields. The warehouse purchased 193,000 labels to set up the shelving system.”

I believe this is a prime example of the importance of paper.. It just goes to show that our society still values paper. Paper is something tangible that we can hold and there is no fear of a virus or the screen going black. Whatever is on the paper will always be there (unless something is spilled on it or it is in a fire).

People have a sort of emotional attachment to paper. There is always the question “what if” that runs through people’s minds when they consider destroying important paper documents. What if I need to reference that paper document in the future? What if my computer crashes and I lose everything? For that reason, I believe most companies will keep paper copies as backups, just in case. I think the process of converting paper documents into digital documents will prove extremely helpful in the future. However, I believe paper-based communication will continue to be a vital part of our society.

What are your thoughts? Do you think companies will eventually go all-digital or do you think many will keep paper copies just in case something happens?

Enhanced by Zemanta
 
 
Comment On This
 
May 11
000

Creative Paper Craft Ideas: Paper Cupcake Liner Crafts for Mother’s Day

By Paige Wills in Why Choose Paper?

 
Pumpkin spice cupcake.

Pumpkin spice cupcake. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Many people send cards every year; however, sometimes you want to do something unique and special. I was thinking about other uses of paper on Mother’s Day and realized that paper plays an essential part in baking. Take cupcakes for example.

Most cupcake liners are made of paper. These paper cupcake liners can be hand decorated, hand-cut, or pre-purchased with designs. In addition to the Mother’s Day card, you and your family could bake your mom some cupcakes and decorate the paper liners (unless she doesn’t like cupcakes!).

Here is a link to Pinterest that shows all kinds of paper cupcake liners.

Also, for the little kids, there are some arts and crafts projects they can make for mom out of paper cupcake liners.

For example, they can make a paper cupcake liner bouquet. Click here to see a picture and for step-by-step directions from pre-schoolplay.blogspot.com.

Also, they could make a paper cupcake liner corsage for mom. Click here to see a picture and for directions on how to make this corsage from Raising Arizona Kid’s website.

Who knew there are so many different uses for paper cupcake liners!

Do you know of any other uses for paper cupcake liners that would make good creative gifts for Mother’s Day?

Enhanced by Zemanta
 
 
Comment On This
 
May 03
000

Going Green & Recycling Paper With Worms

By Paige Wills in Facts About The Paper Industry, How Paper Is Environmentally Friendly, Why Choose Paper?

 
Earth worm

Earth worm (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When you think of recycling paper, what is the first image that comes to your mind? A big blue bin? A shredding container? Worms? When most of us think about recycling paper, we think of putting it into a big blue pin or shredding container.  However, I recently went on a tour of Louisville, Kentucky’s Mega Cavern. It is an underground cave that was created by miners for limestone. It would have been a safe-zone in case of a nuclear explosion during the Cold War Era. Our tour guide told us the Louisville Mega Cavern is very committed to recycling.  However, one of the most interesting and unsuspecting parts of the tour for me was the worm paper recycling center.

In the middle of the tour, we encountered a large dumpster. The tour guide got out of the jeep and told us that they shred all of their office paper and put it into the dumpster. The dumpster was full of worms. She said the worms decompose the paper, which in turn creates a very rich fertilizer. She then ate one of the worms, and offered us the chance to eat one too. She said they are full of protein! No one else on the tour ate a worm.

Now not all companies can create worm composting facilities. However, it is the premise behind it. We should recycle everything we possibly can to help the Earth. This just shows how paper can be both useful and beneficial to the environment. Instead of throwing away paper, we should always find a way to recycle it.

If you are ever in Louisville, Kentucky, you should stop in and take the tour at the Louisville Mega Cavern.

Have you ever seen a worm recycling farm? Do you know any companies or people that have one?

Enhanced by Zemanta
 
 
Comment On This