(27-Aug-10) We all know that much of what we print is a waste of time, paper, and supplies. But recent studies point out just how much waste we’re talking about: A 2008 UK report estimates that the typical employee produces about 22 pages of paper per day??"most of which he does not really need. A recent Lexmark study reports that the U.S. government spends more than $1 million per day on unnecessary printing.
The aggregate costs of such waste are staggering, partly because of the often unaccounted-for trickle-down: Sure, paper and ink cost money, as do printers themselves. But what about the costs of disposing of or storing the printouts, or the costs of having IT staff deploy and maintain printers that are then used to print unnecessarily?
And why do we do so much printing in the first place? In one recent survey, employees cited three main reasons: First, most noted the need to have signatures on paper documents. Second, more than half responded that they needed to share hard copies of documents with others. Finally, staff and management alike commented on the need for a paper trail.
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