Nine out of 10 office workers say there will always be reasons to print documents, according to new research from Danwood, which also reveals printers are the most used item in the office, with 81% of workers rating printers more important than desktop computers (70%), pens (73%) and staplers (71%).
The survey of 1,000 office workers reveals that almost half (46%) of workers print daily with 84% of workers believing print is an important aspect of work and 80% saying they need physical paper documents in order to do their job.
The key drivers for printing include reviewing documents (48%), posting (42%), presentation handouts (33%) filling and audits (32%) and annotating (30%).
Although it looks like printing is here to stay for the foreseeable future, 90% believe the way in which we print is likely to change, especially as 73% agree that they are trying to reduce their reliance on printing. What's more, according to IDC, the market has seen an overall decline in print volumes by around 6%, with a shift from mono to colour printing and increased use of Smart Multi Function Printers.
However, the research highlights the importance of educating office workers in practising good printing habits. As many as 28% of workers have printed multiple copies because the print quality was bad and the same number have printed more than once because they have misplaced the original copy. The good news is that 71% only print the pages they need and 48.6% print in black and white unless they specially need colour.
Wes Mulligan, CEO, Danwood, said: "Paper is embedded in the way we work and it's clear that printed documents will not be eradicated, however by assessing the complete document lifecycle, streamlined processes can be introduced to make businesses work better, faster and more efficiently."
