As technology has improved, the relationship between a sheet of 8 ½ by 11” paper and the mechanical guts of a printer has become more and more like an old married couple. Most days, they get along beautifully and there isn’t a single concern or disruption as they go through their daily routines together.

Thanks to a well-known car insurance company, we all know that “mayhem” can wreak havoc on the roadways. But, just like getting stuck trying to change a tire in a heavy rainstorm, you can get stuck bending over a printer, trying to change out an ink cartridge, jiggling the USB cable of a non-networked printer that won’t print, or yanking out a paper jam…and then that paper jam turns out to be a co-worker’s birthday party invitation for their kid.

 We get this question a lot. Chances are, the basic printer from an office supply store won’t meet your needs for very long. Even small businesses tend to need something a little more sophisticated to help keep the business efficient. That's where we come in.

Did you know that a single tree produces 8,333 sheets of paper? It takes a lot of paper, and a lot of trees to run a business. We help our clients turn that impact around through our partnership with PrintReLeaf, an organization that permits businesses to certifiably reduce their environmental impact. Their PrintReLeaf Exchange is a patented software platform that tracks usage and drives reforestation.

Paper has it’s own vocabulary and it’s good to know a few things to help make sure you get the paper you need. Most paper is defined by its weight. But paper weight, and the numbers used to define the “weight” actually refer to how thick and sturdy the paper is, not the actual weight of the sheet.

Printing is an inevitable part of operating any business. From business development to invoicing there’s paper involved. And it’s a technology that is more than 2000 years old. Our print managers know a lot about optimizing the cost of business printing. But they know a few other fun facts as well.

Printing and the many components that go along with printing have been around way longer than most would think. Technology is always evolving and we are always finding new ways to make our professional lives more efficient. Keeping that in mind, who knows what kinds of different technologies will be around in the years and centuries to come. 

Will the people of the future look back at us and wonder how we ever made it by with the things we believe to be cutting-edge technology? Will services like managed print, VoIP, and electronic content management all be things of the past? Only time will tell. 

What kinds of technology do you think the people of the future will have 100 years from now?

If you're interested in bringing your office up-to-date with the current future, contact SumnerOne about the different ways you can update the way your office does business!

Originally published March 1, 2017, updated August 6, 2018