Spring is around the corner, and you may be feeling the urge to declutter and start fresh. Going paperless is a great way to do just that. It's good for your productivity and the planet.
As part of the Pitt community, you already have access to a full suite of tools that make reducing paper easy. Here's how to put them to work this spring.
📝 Take Notes Digitally with OneNote
OneNote is perfect for those of us who love paper, but have too much of it. Available as part of Microsoft 365 with your Pitt credentials, OneNote lets you capture meeting notes, lecture highlights, to-do lists, and ideas in one organized, searchable place — accessible from any device, any time.
You can type, draw, clip web content, and even record audio directly into your notebooks. Everything syncs automatically across your devices, so your notes from a morning lecture are waiting for you when you open your laptop that evening. No more lost sticky notes, no more hunting through stacks of paper for that thing you wrote down three weeks ago.
📋 Replace Paper Forms with Microsoft Forms
You may not know that you have access to Microsoft Forms for creating fast, easily sharable forms with zero paper. Add your questions, choose your response types — multiple choice, short answer, rating scale, date — and share the link via email, Teams, or a QR code. Responses are collected automatically in a spreadsheet you can review and analyze at any time, with no manual data entry required.
🗂️ Store and Share Files with OneDrive
Whether it's syllabi, reports, or project files, documents pile up fast. OneDrive gives you a secure, searchable place to store and share them — no printing required.
With OneDrive, you can collaborate on files with classmates or colleagues in real time, leave comments, and track changes — all without a single sheet of paper changing hands. It also means no more emailing attachments back and forth or losing track of which version is the latest one.
📊 Annotate and Mark Up Files Digitally
One of the most common reasons people print is to write on documents. But you can do that digitally too.
In Word, use the Review tools to add comments and track changes collaboratively. On a tablet, apps like OneNote let you write directly on documents with a stylus or your finger.
🖨️ When You Do Print, Print Smart with Pitt Print
Sometimes printing is necessary, and that's okay. When you do need a hard copy, Pitt Print makes it easy to print only what you need, from wherever you are. Submit your print job from your computer, phone, or browser at print.pitt.edu, and release it at any campus printer when you're ready.
A few habits that reduce waste when you do print:
- Print double-sided to cut paper use in half
- Preview before printing to catch formatting issues before they waste a sheet
- Print only the pages you need rather than entire documents
- Use the Pharos Print App on your phone to manage your queue and avoid accidental duplicate prints
Unprinted jobs are automatically deleted from your queue after 48 hours, which is like a built-in reminder to only print what you actually need.
🌱 Small Changes, Real Impact
Going paperless can seem daunting, but digital tools make it easy to introduce more paper-free days into your life. Spring is the perfect time to turn over a new leaf. Might as well make it a digital one.
— Pitt Digital
