I love paper; crisp tracing paper, bright wrapping paper, new books and magazines, blank drawing paper, protective tissue paper. I love paging through paper, reading off paper, choosing from stacks of paper in the art shop, selecting paper for print, opening envelopes, receiving cards and letters. I feel more secure with paper, whether in a file, old-fashioned printed photos, a certificate, a wad of bank notes, a page per day diary or a ticket.
As a graphic designer, my business has always been designing for print and paper is integral to that. The possibilities and delight of the folded, pierced, die cut and perforated have added creative dimensions to design. To see the transformation of the blank sheet into the final full-colour printed, folded, bound, embossed and matt-varnished product has been one of the true pleasures of the job.
But the rest of the world is moving away from paper. Kindles and tablets make much more sense for reading in bed and for conveniently transporting mini libraries on holiday. Websites offer information that was updated five minutes ago. Emails don’t need stamps or include paper cuts. Digital photography can be shared with the world.
Add to this the fact that the paper industry is nasty. The third biggest user of fossil fuels globally, the primary cause of deforestation and a huge contributor to landfills, paper is no friend of the environment. Paper is also cumbersome, takes up space, requires a lot of management and jams constantly in the printer!
So why is paper still around? The concept of a paperless office was first touted in a Business Week article in 1975 but, while the prediction of a computer on every desk proved true, the demise of paper didn’t happen.
Do we still feel the need for paper as a kind of security blanket, the physical presence more reassuring than any elusive and fleeting digital form? Are we simply addicted to paper because it is a habit and habits are hard to break? Or do we just like paper because we are actually physical creatures who essentially still would prefer a real hug to a virtual one, a face to face conversation over a Skype chat, and a R5 coin from the tooth fairy as opposed to an EFT.
So paper may very well disappear from our banks and offices and I imagine the world may be better for it. But please don’t let it disappear altogether. I can allow that emails are better than the old blue airmail letters but I will not allow that reading to a child from a kindle can ever be better than the familiar and comforting ritual of paging through a favourite book. Story time should be on paper, gifts should be wrapped or come in bags, memories are printed and put in photo albums, and a hand-scribbled note torn from an exercise book will continue to have resonance and need to be kept in a special place.
Maybe the future will not be truly paperless as predicted but simply have less paper.
Hopefully, we can lose paper if, when and where the alternative option is better and the environment will benefit, but keep it to suit our very human needs when it gives value, comfort and real pleasure.