July 9th, 2009

Worried about your printing habits? You're not alone.

Posted by Heather Clancy @ 3:09 pm

Categories: climate change, green tech, research

Tags: Cartridge, Printing, Document Management, Enterprise Software, Software, Finance, Managerial Accounting, Heather Clancy

A new Lexmark survey entitled “State of Printing” finds that more than three-quarters of the 10,000 respondents feel guilty about printing wasted pages—regardless of whether they’re printing those pages at home or in their office. Women were slightly more likely to feel “guilty”: Almost 79 percent of them felt this way vs. 71 percent of men.

Other green-related findings from the fresh Lexmark research, which was conducted for the printer manufacturer by IPSOS back in March and canvassed 21 countries:

• 85 percent of respondents would opt for an “environmentally” conscious printing option if it was available. I don’t know about you, but my printer SUPPORTS duplex or double-sided printing and I have a devil of a time getting it to remember that. It won’t “take.” What do you want to bet all the peripherals guys really start focusing on this feature set.
• 64 percent believes ink cartridge disposal is the biggest environmental offender related to printing. This is a BIG bone of contention for the printer manufacturers out there, which is one reason why Hewlett-Packard has moved to create products made out of recycled ink cartridges. Lexmark, for its part, has also done some research on this question, and it refutes this perception about cartridges—pointing to paper as the culprit in the waste associated with printing technology. That data is part of its LifeCycle Assessment study, discussed here. Regardless, the supplies debate will continue to rage. Heck, my own printer goes through one of my silly color cartridges in less than a week and I have cut WAY back on my printing.

Either way, just a couple more data points supporting the talked-about-forever concept of the paperless office.