Look around you. What do you see? Maybe a notepad of paper, a sticky note thats paper, a box from Amazon, you guessed it, paper.
For sure if you walk out of your office, whether at home or in an office building you will find multiple pieces of paper. From the mail in your mailbox to the printed receipt you get from the store. If you think paper is a thing of the past or going away just visit a courtroom. Have you seen the storage boxes, guess what’s in those boxes, paper, everywhere?
An example of how paper is used in government, the Obamacare law started out with a whopping 2,700 sheets of paper. Now remember a copy has to go to every member of Congress, and every member of the President’s office, their aids, and their aids, wow! However, when you start to add in the regulations related to this law, the number of pages becomes astronomical. According to sources in Congress, the stack of rules, regulations, and proposed regulations amounts to somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 pages, although there is some debate about the exact number. Some say proposed regulations shouldn’t count while others claim some of the pages contain such small type that they should constitute more pages. So much for saving the trees.
Printed documents, business forms, envelopes, marketing materials, anything that is used to gather information, store information, or communication is not going away. Statista gives statical information on the state of our paper industry. Booming with the undertone of shortages.
Have you ever realized how “international” the paper industry is? The United States and China still lead the world in paper product manufacturing. Operative word “products”, just think of the different types of products there are. From toilet paper to cardboard. From books to pull-ups. From wrapping paper to newspaper. Paper is used in wide and various ways. Remember, paper is made using pulp, from wood, from trees. Escalating prices, and longer lead times. Think about that “slow boat from China.” Think about that long hauler from Florida. Paper gives people jobs, improves our lives, and strengthens our economy.
Several reasons we are seeing a shortage and price increases; it is more profitable for paper manufactures to convert to cardboard, think Amazon. Much of our paper is now coming from other countries due to the environmental restrictions and closures of manufacturing plants here in the U.S.
Plan ahead for your next printing project. Printed documents are still seen as the most cost-effective and productive way to communicate with customers and staff. Alexander Clark Printing has inventories of the most requested papers. A conversation with one of our sales consultants, about your printed product needs is important. Planning is everything, we can plan together.
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Benjamin Franklin
