The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency says that the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. Now imagine the additional cost of printing, copying, faxing and storing all of that paper. Even if your office does not go completely paperless, there are steps you can take to reduce this cost and improve your productivity at the same time.

Scanning is a very effective way to reduce the amount of paper that you print, copy, fax and store. Once a document is scanned in, it can be distributed electronically or posted on your company's intranet for others to easily access. In your own office, you can maximize space and reduce piles by scanning in the majority of your documents.

Our favorite scanner is the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500. It is fast, compact and easy to use. This is not meant to be a central office-wide scanner, but rather, a desktop scanner to be used by individuals or a small group. This is also a great home office solution! Here are some of our favorite features:

• Ease of Use - Its one-button approach makes it very easy to use.
  
  
• Size - The footprint of this scanner is a mere 11.5" (width) x 6.3" (depth) x 6.2" (height). You can choose to scan with the front tray open to "catch" the paper, or you can scan with it closed, and it comes out on your desk right in front of the scanner. I keep mine closed except when I am scanning.
  
  
• Speed - The ScanSnap's speed rivals that of its larger, more expensive competitors. It can scan 20 color pages in less than a minute (including double-sided). You can place up to 50 pages at a time in the document feeder, push the button, and you have a searchable .pdf in no time.
  
  
• Variety of Documents - The ScanSnap allows you to scan documents of different sizes at the same time. It can also handle receipts and business cards. The business card recognition software can scan information directly into some of the more common contact management software programs such as Outlook.