The High Cost Of Printing - Infographic

The Evolution of Paperless Workflows

During my time with a governmental organization in the year 2000, I attempted to advocate for a transition to a paperless operational model. The sheer volume of paper and ink consumed was concerning, and as the designated filing clerk, I directly experienced the inefficiencies. However, the concept of eliminating paper entirely was considered too unconventional at the time.

Colleagues were heavily reliant on physical documents and their associated printers. Before I could further champion this change, I ultimately chose to pursue other employment opportunities.

A Shift in Perspective

Twelve years later, the notion of a paper-free environment is far more accepted. The utilization of PDF documents is increasing, and applications designed for digital note-taking, such as Evernote, are gaining widespread popularity.

Furthermore, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology has made the digitization of documents a practical and efficient process. Consequently, my personal printer has remained largely unused for over a year.

Now, when documentation needs to be preserved, I create a digital duplicate and store it on my computer, within Evernote, or on my iPhone or iPad. The days of navigating through piles of paper are over.

The Financial Impact of Printing

Despite these advancements, some organizations continue to prioritize printing. This leads to the statistics highlighted in the following infographic, compiled through recent data analysis.

It's noteworthy that between 1% and 3% of a company’s yearly revenue can be attributed to printing expenses. Additional costs arise from issues like paper jams and the overuse of colored ink.

Many businesses also overspend on printed promotional materials – including business cards, flyers, coupons, and newspaper advertisements. A significant portion of these materials are now unnecessary in their physical form.

Discussion and Considerations

We are interested in your perspective. Does your organization still heavily rely on printing practices?

Alternatively, has your company fully embraced a paperless system? Do you believe it’s time to phase out traditional print materials, such as business cards, in favor of digital alternatives?

Click on the infographic for an enlarged, more detailed view.

Infographic Source: Intuit.com

Image Source: Print button via Shutterstock