Epson survey reports that the death of printing has been greatly exaggerated!

Printing is dead! The idea of a paperless office isn’t new having been around since the rise of automation began to be felt in offices. It meant a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced through the use of technology to increase digitalisation.

But as it turns out the reports of the death of printing were immature.

According to an Epson survey, "The Road to Sustainable Printing: Exploring Attitudes and Behaviours in Southeast Asia (S.E.A.)", printing is alive in Southeast Asia with 40% of office equipment decision makers and end users across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam using it daily. While lower than the S.E.A average, 25% of Singapore respondents still used a printer for work daily.

Based on a survey of 1,500 office decision makers, the survey found that while 40% of S.E.A. businesses are still printing daily, hybrid working and digitalisation has led to lasting changes, increasing the need for flexibility in how we print. It went on to add:

Digital capabilities that were once regarded as nice to have, are now necessities in daily business operations. For many organisations, starting with digital document sharing is a logical first step in their digitalisation journey.

But there are verticals that are adopting digitalisation faster than others with more traditional sectors, including construction (39%) and retail (40%), appear slower to switch to softcopy compared to consulting and professional services (50%) and advertising and marketing (48%).

Environmental impact

One point the Epson survey raised was that 34% of local businesses held the “misconception” that laser printers have a lower environmental impact in comparison to inkjet printers. This is especially important to Epson given that it said that the company will transition fully to inkjet printers and end its global sales and distribution of laser printers by 2026 by leveraging its Piezo Heat-Free inkjet technology.

This allows Epson's printers to eliminate the use of heat in the ink ejection process, reducing energy usage and allowing the printer to begin printing within seconds. Epson also said that their new inkjet printers use fewer replacement parts than laser printers, further reducing the impact on the environment.

Locally, while businesses are ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ aware of the environmental impacts of printing (21%), only half say that their workplace encourages digital document sharing and storage to promote sustainable printing. Singapore businesses tend to be more cost-conscious with 18% saying that they are unlikely to pay more for sustainability - the highest proportion of all respondents. What was important to local businesses was the size of the printer with 77% of Singapore respondents saying that the compactness of printers was important in workplace printing requirements.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.