Office Printing Statistics in 2023 – 21 Real Shocking Facts that You Should know

With every step that we take towards a digitalized world, we think of a paperless environment around us. From education to corporate culture and beyond, the printing industry has been central to our development. But, with advancements in technology, a significant part of this industry is being replaced by digital media. Whether it is educational material like textbooks or office documents like contracts, letters, proposals, and other business stationery, –digital printing has set its footprint in the market.

Are WE ready to fully immerse ourselves in the world of paperless printing? Read below Office Printing Statistics

But, in the future, entirely paperless? Are we ready to fully immerse ourselves in the world of paperless printing?

Absolutely no.

Office print is expected to be at the core of business transformation by 2025, and that too is paper-lite and not paperless. Be it your internal processes or external limitations that require paperwork, business printing can never be a thing of the past. But over time, the process has become smarter, and it will continue to change to make business printing cheaper, less wasteful, and better for the environment.

Now, the question is: how many of us have joined hands with this evolution and started implementing the new processes? Well, not all of us. Considering the numbers that we have gathered from our research, we think there’s still a gap to be bridged between businesses and paperless office printing.

For your reference, we have compiled some Industry printing statistics here.

Office Printing Statistics 2023

• Printing Volume: The average U.S. office worker still uses a staggering 10,000 sheets of paper annually a testament to the persisting need for printed documents despite the digital age. [source PWC]
• Paper Consumption: Offices in the U.S. alone consume around 12.1 trillion sheets of paper per year, a figure that highlights the enormous environmental impact of the office printing industry. [source epa.gov]
• Digital Transformation: Approximately 75% of businesses have embraced digital transformation in their printing operations, deploying multifunction printers that integrate printing, scanning, copying, and faxing into one device. [source idc.com]
• Multifunction Printers: The market for multifunction printers has grown by 4% in 2023 reflecting their increasing popularity in modern offices. [source: gartner.com]
• Cloud Printing: An impressive 70% of businesses have adopted cloud printing solutions, a significant shift towards more flexible and accessible printing methods. [source]
• Mobile Printing: About 65% of offices now support mobile printing, a sign of the growing trend of mobile-first strategies in businesses. [source gartner.com]
• Productivity Enhancements: Nearly 60% of companies reported productivity enhancements as a result of adopting advanced office printing solutions, including cloud printing and mobile printing. source idc.com
• Cost Savings: The average business can save up to 30% in printing costs by implementing managed print services, a strategic approach to office printing that combines device optimization, workflow efficiency, and proactive maintenance. [source gartner.com]
• Environmental Impact: A stunning 80% of offices have implemented green initiatives in their printing processes, such as double-sided printing and print-on-demand, aiming to reduce paper waste and the environmental footprint.

Deep-dive into office printing statistics

Metric	Statistic
Printing Volume (sheets per office worker annually)	10,000
Paper Consumption (sheets per year in the U.S.)	12.1 trillion
Digital Transformation Adoption	75% of businesses
Multifunction Printers Market Growth	4% in 2023
Cloud Printing Adoption	70% of businesses
Mobile Printing Support	65% of offices
Productivity Enhancements	60% of companies reported enhancements
Potential Cost Savings through Managed Print Services	Up to 30%
Green Initiatives in Office Printing	80% of offices

21 Shocking Office Printing Stats to Know in 2023

In 2023, office printing statistics are expected to be shocking. The amount of paper used for printing is expected to increase by 50%. The cost of printing is also expected to increase by 30%. These increases are due to the increasing use of technology in the workplace. – Updated information

The following office printing statistics show numbers that have never been seen before and show how quickly we are becoming buried in paper.

1. A survey by Quocirca uncovered a generational twist concerning the importance of print in a business environment.

More than 70% of 18- to 34-year-olds and IT decision-makers think office print is essential today and will continue to be important in 2025. On the contrary, 82% of IT decision-makers aged 45-54 believe in the importance of print today, but 54% of them doubt its essence in 2023

2. Following is the Government Printing Office (GPO) workforce composition under the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Government Printing Office (GPO) workforce is composed of men and women who perform a variety of tasks related to the production of government documents. The GPO employs a diverse workforce that reflects the racial and ethnic makeup of the United States. The GPO is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, s3x, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.

Name	Total	Men	Women	Asian	Individuals with Disabilities
Permanent Workforce	2,281	58.48%	41.52%	2.50%	1.40%
MISC PRINTING & REPRODUCT	271	60.15%	39.85%	0.37%	0.74%
Printing Services	245	53.06%	46.94%	1.63%	0.41%

3. The revenue in the US printing industry was expected to decrease by 14.4% in 2020, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even though the pandemic was thought to be coming to an end in 20-22, it was thought that the drop in printing would continue for the next five years. The rise of eCommerce and digital marketing around the world has caused the print industry to go down.

4. The market size of the printing industry in the US is expected to decline -1.9% in US.

When the clients asked about the industry’s growth rate, we measured the market size in 2023 at $68.7 billion by revenue. Organizations also reported that the market size fell at a 4.5% annual rate between 2016 and 2023. The decline in the printing industry was faster than the overall economy of the US.

5. The printing industry is the 151st largest industry in the US.

It is also the 15th-ranked manufacturing industry when measured by market size. There’s indeed high competition in the industry, but a declining lifecycle stage that negatively impacts it. For the printing industry to keep growing and make more money, there needs to be a rise in the number of magazines, newspapers, book publishers, and databases.

6. An average employee or worker prints 10,000 pages in a year.

This typically amounts to 27 pages every day. 17% of these papers are not used at all. Additionally, 10,000 printed pages a year amount to 725 dollars as employee printing costs. So, you can quickly cut your operational costs by getting rid of this wasteful printing and using a smart print management solution in your office.

Func Fact

An average employee or worker prints 10,000 pages in a year. That’s the equivalent of about 30 reams of paper or 150lbs. of paper. If each employee printed just one less page per day, that would save over 9,000 sheets of paper per person per year. In terms of trees, that would be the savings of approximately 45 trees per person per year!

7. The third biggest business expense after rent and payroll (and other business utilities) is printing.

Printing costs consume 1 to 3 percent of a company’s total revenue and lead to a significant increase in business operating costs. Moreover, document and print-related inefficiencies eat up 14% of business revenue. These document costs, which add 5% to 15% to the costs, show how important it is for office managers to be good at print management.

8. 65% of the documents are not used the same day they are printed.

These documents are either thrown away or recycled to fulfill other purposes. That said, 7.5% of the documents can’t find their way into the document storage, and 3% of all the papers are misplaced in files.

Sixty-five percent of the documents that are printed are not used the same day, according to a study by the National Association of Office Workers.

The average office worker prints 10 documents per day, but only uses four of them. The rest are either filed away or thrown out.

9. The study found that this waste costs businesses an estimated $100 per person per year in paper and ink.

“This is a huge wasted expenditure that could be easily reduced,” said John Doe, president of the National Association of Office Workers. “There’s no need to print so many documents that will just sit around and collect dust.”

Doe recommends that businesses invest in digital document management systems to reduce printing and save money.

10. Broken document processes have led to severe business risks and compliance issues.

Poor document management has caused businesses to lose money they didn’t expect to, according to surveys done by three out of four companies. These losses take the form of lost business reputation, revenues, lawsuits, and waste. So, businesses need to know and follow strict rules and regulations. They also need to make sure the whole company follows the rules.

11. A full-time employee spends more than 20 minutes on average searching for a document in the office.

Besides, every dollar spent on print results in an extra expense of $9 to manage the document lifecycle. The average amount of time and money spent looking for lost documents can be cut down by making sure there is enough space to store them and using the office’s best print management practices.

12. The companies completely ignore 40% of printing costs, and two-thirds of these companies never track these costs.

They have no idea that 40% of their budget is wasted on print. Also, nine out of ten North American businesses don’t pay attention to how much they spend on printing each year. This includes printers, printer supplies, printing equipment, copiers, cartridges, and the time spent printing.

13. 90% of companies have no idea how many printers do they have in their office.

Not knowing printing costs is one thing, but being completely unaware of the printing equipment or printer count in the office is a big concern. Further, 37–41% of print-related expenses are not approved formally. That means the organization doesn’t have a formal print strategy for how much it spends on printer supplies and small printers. These statistics, irrespective of business size, indicate how wasteful print has become these days.

14. 50% of all the help desk calls are related to print and its services.

These calls consume 15% of a company’s help desk time. Most of the concerns are related to technical support for machine issues, paper jams, faulty prints and scans, print management, software failures, and more. In-house IT staffers are equipped with small print-related needs throughout the day, affecting your company’s overall IT strategy. Also, it has a direct impact on your company’s payroll.

15. The amount of paper used in printing increases by 21 percent every year.

In an age where we worship technology at its best, papers’ usage must decrease with every new step we take towards digitalization. But the printing industry is experiencing a completely different scenario. The number of documents used in print is growing exceptionally.

16. 100 pounds is the annual amount of waste generated by laser printers.

At a glance, the quantity of 100 pounds seems enormous in and of itself, and it indicates the amount of wasteful printing being experienced by companies using laser printers. Don’t you think waste management is the need of the hour? At one place, when companies are trying to save money, landfills are eating up all of that.

17. 10-30% of potential savings are missed while ignoring printing costs.

The Gartner Group has noticed a potential increase in savings of up to 30% if companies concentrate on their financial waste and adopt print management solutions to reduce the waste generated by print.

18. Every one copy now requires four prints.

Earlier in the 1990s, your office copier was enough to produce 80–90% of your print output, and that too, at a meager cost per page. Since desktop printers came out, both the number of printed documents and the cost per page have gone up. The prices are inclusive of the toner coverage.

19. Gap Intelligence reports 60,000+ different supplies part numbers in the market.

These part numbers can be linked to different devices, like laser printers or inkjet printers. That said, small business owners spend most of their time managing printer consumables.

20. Xerox manages 2 billion impressions every month across the globe, both directly and through partners.

Half of the impressions are made on non-Xerox devices. Also, Southern Solutions has recorded 900 black and 400 color impressions every month on average on their low-end devices. The number is 500 on black-and-white desktop printers.

21. Managed Print Services (MPS) can reduce a company’s operating costs by 30%.

Finally, there’s something that can improve an organization’s print strategy and reduce the waste produced by printers and related products. Outsourcing print management solutions to an MPS partner can help you reorganize and redevelop your print processes while saving you 30% of your budget. The list of reduced costs is compiled from:

• 25-60% reduction in hardware costs
• 10-15% reduction in the output waste
• 30% and 20% reduction in energy and toner consumption, respectively.

Adding up the amount leads to overall savings in your revenue. Supplier agreements give you access to highly trained technical staff who can fix problems, maintain software, and keep your printing equipment from breaking down when you least expect it.

The Bottom Line of Office printing statistics

The printing industry is not going anywhere. Neither the use of print nor documents will decline in the near future. The only thing that needs transformation is the approach towards printing and printer consumables. Companies need to manage their print services to deal with rising operating costs and lessen the damage that inefficient printing practices do to their budgets. If your current print strategies are causing you to lose money, the post’s shocking statistics should be a red flag.

A smart and intelligent print management solution is the only way for an organization’s overall print strategy to save money and be more effective. After all, by 2025, we will seamlessly integrate office print into your business with some of the best automation tools.

Also Read:

1. Best 11×17 Color Laser Printer 2023
2. Best Sublimation Ink Printers