Google Dropping Paperless 2013 Tag Line

PITTSBURGH—Printing Industries of America’s President and CEO Michael Makin publicly thanked Google CEO Larry Page and Chairman Eric Schmidt for reconsidering the message of the Paperless 2013 campaign. The following message from Michael Makin has been sent to the Printing Industries of America membership:

Dear members,
It may have taken months, but I am pleased to report that as a result of the protest by Printing Industries of America—along with other groups such as Two Sides—Google has corrected its misleading claims made as part of its ill-conceived Paperless 2013 campaign. While the campaign to reduce office paper use will continue, its offensive tag line “Save money. Save time. Save trees” has been eliminated!

You may remember that in January this year, I sent an open letter to Google CEO Larry Page and Chairman Eric Schmidt, challenging Google on this offensive initiative. It appears our protest did not fall on deaf ears.

Misconceptions like these are common in our industry, and that is why Printing Industries of America has spent time and resources putting together The Value of Print campaign, a tool that can be used to dispel many misconceptions about our industry.

The Value of Print Flip-Book and its accompanying mobile app can be used to give responses to the common misconceptions about print, promote its effectiveness with statistics, discuss the importance of the printing industry and its large economic footprint, and refer to additional Websites for more information.

I want to thank Messrs. Page and Schmidt for reconsidering the message of the Paperless 2013 campaign. This is just one more victory for our industry, but we can’t sit back now. I am encouraging everyone to view a copy of the Flip-Book by visiting (here) and to help spread the true message about print. And don’t forget to download the app, available for Apple, Android, and Blackberry users.
Sincerely,
Michael Makin
President & CEO
Printing Industries of America