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Worldwide page volume
generated on home and office
digital hardcopy devices* fell
to 2.98 trillion in 2012 from
3.03 trillion in 2011 and 3.09
trillion in 2010, reflecting a
year-on-year decline of 1.5%,
according to new research
from International Data
Corporation (IDC).
In Europe, the Middle East
and Africa (EMEA) printed output
fell by 2.3% overall and by 3.1%
and 3.2% in Western Europe
(WE) and Central and Eastern
Europe (CEE) respectively.
Even so, last year almost 2
million pages were printed in
EMEA every minute – enough
to cover almost 17.5 football
pitches with paper.
Ilona Stankeova, research
director for Imaging Printing and
Document Solutions, IDC CEMA,
said: “A recession economy
and slow business activity;
tightening budgets and pressure
to cut costs; digitisation
of document workflows;
increasing adoption of managed
print services (MPS); and
environmental concerns across
Europe were the key factors
behind the page volume decline
in EMEA last year.”
The rapid adoption of
tablets and smartphones is
not a factor, says IDC, as most
handheld mobile devices are
purchased by home users, who
are responsible for only 5% of
pages printed in the home or
office.
Its study
Mobile Device
Users vs. Non-Users: Print,
Scan, Document Management,
2012
indicates that on average
tablet and smartphone owners
print more than non-owners
and are inclined to print more
if they have applications that
allow them to do so easily. They
also have a greater preference
than non-owners for reading
documents in printed rather
than electronic formats.
“Tablet devices are killing
the PC/notebook business, but
not printing volumes,” claimed
Mitri Roufka, research director
for Imaging Printing and
Document Solutions, IDC CEMA.
According to Stankeova,
tablets and smartphones
actually provide an opportunity
for growth. “Page volumes from
mobile devices are expected
to grow, and thus represent
an opportunity for vendors,
as over 50% of pages printed
from tablets and smartphones
are pages that users would
not have printed from a PC.
However, users are reporting
a need for better tools and
applications to help them print
from those devices. Over 50%
of smartphone users and 35%
of tablet users indicate that
they do not know how to print
from their devices. This is a real
opportunity that manufacturers
need to address,” she said.
IDC believes that the two
main factors influencing page
volumes are the economic
conditions and business activity;
and the need to print and
process certain documents on
paper. As more businesses
digitise processes, IDC expects
EMEA page volumes to continue
to decline slowly.
www.idc.com
* Inkjet and laser printers, copiers
and MFPs with speeds of less than
70 pages per minute (mono laser)
and 45ppm (colour laser).
Printed page volumes still falling but
smartphones aren’t to blame
4
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
Bulletin
Occasional A3
without the
overheads
Businesses and workgroups
that have an occasional need
for A3 output but not in high
enough volumes to warrant
investment in a large A3 MFP
are among those likely to
benefit from Toshiba’s new
e-STUDIO2505 series of mono
MFPs (with colour scan).
The three 25ppm machines
have an A4 paper supply
and footprint but can handle
occasional A3 print/scan/copy
jobs via the A3 bypass tray and
A3-sized Automatic Document
Feeder.
Chris Mills, product manager
at Toshiba TEC UK, said: “Until
today, customers just had to
accept that they were limited to
one paper format when using
an A4 device. We are proud to
have found a way to overcome
this. The e-STUDIO2505 series
offers users far more flexibility
and a smart way of printing.”
www.toshiba.co.uk
CEPI stats show decline in paper use
The economic downturn and greater digitisation helped reduce
overall consumption of paper and board in Europe by 3.8% last year,
according to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI).
Over the same period, European GDP decreased by 0.3% (source:
Eurostat – EU27). CEPI statistics show that in 2012 CEPI members
produced 92.1 million tonnes
of paper and board, 1.6% fewer
than in 2011. Before the 2008
crisis, production was 97.9 million
tonnes. Exports of paper and
board outside Europe grew by
5.3%, whilst imports fell by 9.7%
from 2011 levels.
www.cepi.org/node/16197
Banner’s Closed Loop paper in
production
Positive outlook
Not everyone is downbeat about the
print market. Susanne Heis, HP Vice
President & General Manager Printing
Systems EMEA, is much more bullish.
She told
PrintIT
that it was important
to distinguish between consumer and
business printing. “What’s declining
is the consumer print market – the
consumer printing at home. But when
you look at the SME printer market
in EMEA, our guess is it’s growing by
8-10%. The business printing market is
still growing,” she said.
Rapid adoption of tablets and smartphones is not a factor in page
volume decline (photo courtesy of Canon)