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How Much Paper Can Digital Services Save?

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There are plenty of reasons to replace paper with digital services, from security to efficiency, but one that’s often overlooked is the environmental impact.

It goes without saying that digital services like email, cloud storage, and online faxing save paper, since they don’t require any. But just how much paper is saved by using those services?

According to some estimates, the average office discards about 350 pounds of paper each year, per employee.

Take faxing, one paper-intensive office tool, as an example. If you have a physical fax machine that’s printing faxes out – which are later tossed – that adds up, even for a small business. If you have 25 people in your office, your company is using more than 8,700 pounds of paper per year.

Google Faxing estimates that online faxing can save roughly one tree per year, and further reduce paper use beyond your initial fax since all sending, editing, and receiving can be done on your computer or mobile device.

If it’s difficult to imagine just how much paper that adds up to, MyFax provides some more numbers on how environmentally intensive general office paper use can be:

  • In the US, annual office paper consumption is enough to build a 10-foot-high wall that’s 6,815 miles long. That’s more than the distance from New York to Tokyo.
  • Producing one ton of paper (200,000 sheets) requires 20,312 gallons (76,889 liters) of water. In the UK alone, 12.5 million tons of paper was consumed in 2005.
  • Reducing paper use by 10% in the US alone would prevent the emission of 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases — the equivalent of taking 280,000 cars off the road.

Faxing is by no means the only digital solution in offices these days; another is eSigning. Because it allows you to sign and send documents online, eSigning lets you skip printing out additional paper.

eSignature provider DocuSign says that its electronic signature service has reduced approximately 837 tons of paper – or more than 14,000 trees – since its founding in 2003.

Switching to online forms, filing, and reports is also an effective way to cut paper use. According to an InformIT report, the Bank of America cut its paper consumption by 25% in part by using online forms and reports. And Yale University recently on a paper-saving initiative in 2013, encouraging faculty, staff, and students alike to share information via programs like PowerPoint instead of handouts, by distributing meeting materials electronically, and by using message programs or emails to exchange information. Yale estimates that before it took on the paperless initiative, it consumed 211,033 reams of paper in one fiscal year, or about 12,662 trees worth of paper. When the university started going paperless, it was able to cut that by 2.4%, with a long-term goal to cut paper consumption by 25%.

With the rise of cloud storage, filing and sharing documents without paper is another way to cut paper use and save money. Storing physical documents costs money – for the storage system and the space – and may mean higher labor costs, too. Using cloud storage like Dropbox can eliminate those costs, and save a significant amount of paper.

It goes without saying that most people communicate with email instead of snail mail nowadays, but when it comes to marketing, there’s still a lot of direct mail being sent. Email marketing programs like Campaign Monitor not only save paper, they have a much higher open rate than direct mail – an average of 22.8%, compared with 4% for physical mail.

Finally, internal notes, memos, and copies can be eliminated through to-do lists and note-taking apps like Evernote and Trello. Both programs allow you to message colleagues and share documents online, which means you don’t have to print out clips you want to share.

A Guide To E-Signatures

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E –signatures are big business, and for good reason: they make going totally paperless possible. But understanding how it works and when it’s OK to use an e-signature can be confusing. Here, we’ve put together a guide to e-signatures and what you need to know to get started using one.

When Are They Considered Valid, And When Should You Not Use One?

Thanks to the federal government’s ESIGN Act of 2000, e-signatures are legally valid and carry the same legal weight as handwritten signatures. That means that for some court documents, business contracts or agreements, e-signing is a legitimate way to add your signature.

There are a few specific situations, however, in which electronic versions of documents or contracts are not considered valid. Wills, documents relating to family law like adoption or divorce, eviction notices, court orders, foreclosure notices, situations where a notary is required, and product recalls are all examples of situations in which e-signatures are not considered valid.

When Can You Paste An Image of A Signature, And When Should You Use Certified E-Signature Services?

It is possible to use a picture of your signature on any document, from PDF’s to DOCX. Although this is legal if the signing parties could prove their intent, it’s not recommended that you use this for commercial purposes because it could be subject to dispute.

Another way to add an electronic signature is to type your name in one of the following formats: /s/John Doe or /John Doe/. Both are considered legitimate signatures according to the ESIGN Act, and are acceptable in the legal industry. Some experts recommend that you use this format for agreements or contracts for a lower value, non-recurring service.

The most iron-clad way to add an e-signature to a document is to use an e-signature service, either through an Internet fax provider or through a service like DocuSign or Adobe EchoSign. Those services adhere closely to the ESIGN Act, even taking into account international laws. For high-value transactions like real estate contracts, or for international business, a service like this is probably the best choice.

 

 

Sending Documents By Fax Versus Email: Which Is Better?

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In today’s digitally-driven business world, many people ask, “why fax at all ?” If online fax services give an email address the ability to send and receive faxes, why not just send an email? It’s a reasonable question.

While it may seem that there’s little difference between sending a document via online fax versus sending it as an email attachment, there are some specific nuances that do make the two methods very different. And for some industries, those differences mean sending documents via fax – online or traditional – is still the preferred choice.

Medical Security

Online faxing and traditional faxing are both key to medical fields because they offer a way to send and receive patient information that’s compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT (HIPAA). While email isn’t strictly prohibited under the HIPAA Security Rule as a means to send electronic patient health information, it’s much harder to ensure that patient information is adequately protected when sent by email. Therefore, faxing has become the preferred method for sharing patient information by medical professionals.

Several online fax services offer specific HIPAA-compliant features, which include various levels of safeguards: the services act as a Business Associate, which means they are qualified to send messages and content related to personal health information; they use encryption; and they use firewalls to ensure network security.

When You Need A Signature, Fast

The medical field isn’t the only industry that relies on faxing – financial services, law offices, and real estate professionals are also big fans of the fax. Some industries, like student loan providers, say they would lose track of communications if they came in over email. Many lawyers also use fax machines because some courts accept fax signatures in place of original signatures, but don’t accept signature copies sent via email. Faxes also offer confirmation of receipt, which can be important if a lawyer needs legal proof that a recipient actually received a fax.

And the fax has its moment in the spotlight every February when high school athletes send their letters of intent to colleges and universities on National Signing Day.

Online fax services can also send documents to standard fax machines. That’s key for lawyers or Realtors, who need documents signed. Esigning features on many online fax services mean “documents that need an immediate signature or response can be sent online, then signed electronically, and returned straight away,” says an eFax blog.

One thing that may change faxing’s advantage over email, at least when it comes to security concerns, is encrypted email. Email encryption software can make emails more secure and in some cases make emailed transmissions compliant with certain security requirements. Some policy-based filters automatically encrypt emails that are sent from employees’ accounts, and most work across platforms popular business applications.

Nonetheless, it seems that for businesses that want hard copies, are sold on the extra security of faxing, or need signatures exchanged quickly, the fax still holds the advantage over email.

Top Online Fax Services With eSigning

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If you run a small to medium-sized business, you may be on the hunt for an online fax service that doesn’t cost a lot. While it’s easy to find plenty of plans and services that offer low rates, it’s a little harder to find one that also includes good features. The ability to electronically sign (eSign) a document in particular is one feature that can add value to a plan. eSigning with an online fax allows you to respond more quickly and saves you the hassle of having to print, sign and scan a document that simply needs your signature. Here, we take a look at plans with low monthly costs that also let users eSign faxes.

eFax – Plus Plan

eFax’s Plus plan includes 150 inbound and 150 outbound pages at $16.95 per month. While all of eFax’s the services are both feature rich and reliable, that’s significantly pricier than other fax services.

eFax offers the ability to eSign documents and fax them back, and its services are HIPAA compliant. It also offers apps for iPhones and Android phones, as well as Microsoft Office integration and 24/7 phone support. eFax is the only company to include all of those features in one service.

HelloFax – Home Office plan

HelloFax’s primary selling point is their smooth eSigning capability. In fact, they also own HelloSign, which is a service that specializes in eSigning various types of electronic documents. HelloFax’s Home Office plan costs $9.99 per month, or $8.33 a month with an annual prepayment. That includes 300 pages inbound and outbound, unlimited storage of sent and received faxes, and unlimited users. This plan lets you eSign documents from your browser, and also gives a preview of faxes before sending.

Other notable features in this plan include tight integration with Google Drive and no startup fees. HelloFax offers local numbers in 42 states, and has U.S.-based (email-only) customer support. However, they do not offer phone support or any mobile apps, and also will not let you store contacts online. HelloFax will port your existing fax number into their service for $15.

 

(RingCentral No Longer Offers eSigning) RingCentral – Fax 700

At $8.99 per month – or $7.11 per month with an annual prepayment – for 700 inbound and outbound pages, this RingCentral plan is a great value. The Fax 700 plan offers a host of features, including the ability to eSign documents from your browser, faxing to international numbers, iPhone, Android and Blackberry apps, 24/7 phone support, and bundled service options (like RingCentral Professional and RingCentral Office- business phone systems that include online fax capability).

The plan also includes a 30-day free trial, local fax numbers in 49 states, and unlimited storage of sent and received faxes. Porting a number is free, and the plan also includes contact books.