One of the advantages of working for a firm like Photizo Group is that you get to see the results of market surveys in advance of most people. In some cases, this is special because you can see what the public is thinking on issues related to the printing and imaging industry. In other cases, the results don’t turn out the way you expect—which leads to a lot of head scratching.

The 2012 Business User Survey commissioned by Recharger Magazine provided many thought-provoking responses that require thinking out of the box, leading me to scratch my head about the subject of print volume.

The survey had 386 respondents who were responsible for purchasing print/copier equipment or printing supplies. The question posed: Comparing with a year earlier, would you say your monthly print volume increased, decreased, or stayed about the same? The results were split by business size, revealing interesting trends.

The businesses with more than nine employees all showed an increase in printing.  However, since businesses with 100-499 employees had print volume reduction over the past year more than the average, the 10-99 and 500+ segments have the largest net gain.  As for the 1-9 segment, about as many companies reported an increase in printing as those that reported a decrease, suggesting that the print volume stays largely intact for the smallest size group.

Now that we know that print volume increased for a few segments, the next question was why?

Question 1: Please select all the reasons from the following statements that describe the increase of your monthly print volume over the past 12 months. The top six responses were as follows:

Reason 1 is understandable, but the second reason does provide insight into the condition prevalent these days. Employees are being called upon to handle more responsibilities with fewer personnel—and some of these positions are requiring more printing. This suggests that some productivity increase should be occurring and we’ll all find out about this next year after the government releases productivity measures.

Reason 3 is interesting—in my view, this would indicate that outsourcing print jobs would be decreasing and, combined with the reason 4, this makes sense. The fifth reason gives hope to OEMs and dealers alike. Color continues to provide a benefit to manufacturers, dealers, and customers.

Finally, the companies that hired more employees have likewise stated they have printed more jobs.  There seems to be a direct correlation between employees and printing. Some have said that if this economic malaise had been turned around, the printing and imaging industry would not be in the shape it is in today financially. Studies are underway by research agencies to determine the effect of smartphones, tablets, and generational habits on print volume.

Question 2: Please select all the reasons from the following statements that describe the decrease of your monthly print volumes. The top six responses were as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first few reasons are mainly associated with environmental reasons. Printing on both sides of the page has been established as best practice in MPS engagements. Duplex printing does not really reduce print volume per se, but it does reduce page volume.

The fifth reason indicates that companies are choosing to print less in order to keep their firm a going concern. This could have been mandated from the executive level or, employees may have decided to cut back on their own.

Finally, the last reason why companies have decreased their monthly print volume has to do with workforce reduction – in most cases, a direct correlation between people and printing for print volume increase or decrease.

So what does all of this really tell me? This survey tells me the companies that have increased their printing have done so due to expansion of business and by other firms hiring more people at the expense of other modes of printing, such as outsourcing print. On the flip side, whether or not you believe that environmental impact is important, the respondents in this survey have indicated it is. More importantly, the economic situation has had more of an impact on print volume reduction than any other reason.

The study begs additional questions such as which verticals have seen an increase or decrease in print volume– and what is the effect of mobility or even digital workflow? Photizo Group will address these questions in an upcoming report. By reviewing this survey, my prediction is that the end of the world will not arrive, as more respondents indicated an increase in print volume versus a decrease.