How Unnecessary Printing Impacts the Environment and Your Bottom Line
According to Formstack.com, Americans now use 31.5 million tons of printing and writing paper each year. This equals around 660 pounds per person. This process requires 535 million trees annually and 12 billion gallons of oil!
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Read on to learn 5 staggering facts that will hopefully make you print less.
1. The average life span of a printed page is 5 minutes. – Most printed documents are unnecessary. In fact, according to Office Tech Insider, the average lifespan of a printed page is around five minutes. It’s read once or twice and then thrown out. Documents shared or sent electronically lessen the waste you generate, lower your carbon footprint, and save money.
2. 20% of all printed documents are left in the printer output tray. – This is not only wasteful but also a potential security issue. This is the most common security issue for many companies. Sensitive data is printed every day in most offices. It could be customer information, insurance documents, billing information, business strategy plans, or more! What would happen if this information was to fall into the wrong hands?
3. The typical office worker prints 10,000 pages annually. – This uses a lot of toner and paper, and it’s also a lot of money. Those 10,000 pages equal about $725 per person annually. Except for rent and payroll, your print cost is often the most expensive part of operating a business! Streamlining printing can significantly lower your costs.
4. It costs 510X more to print in color than in black and white. – Ink companies spend a lot of time formulating the right blend of dye, vehicle, and pigment, dye to have stable droplets for high-resolution color printing. This is why color ink cartridges cost significantly more than black ink. Printing in black and white not only lowers your costs but can also help you have a greener, more sustainable office.
5. 17% of printed pages are never used! – Between a document’s 5-minute lifecycle, and the 17% of documents that are never used, print volumes and costs can be reduced by over 30% just by being more selective in what you print!
A digital document management solution can not only save you money it can also reduce the number of unnecessary documents your team outputs and benefits the environment at the same time.
About Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office
Atlantic is an award-winning office technology and IT solutions company providing Imaging Products, IT Support, Document Management, Cybersecurity and Managed Services to small and large companies in the New York City metropolitan area, and the Greater Philadelphia and Delaware Valley.
For the latest industry trends and technology insights visit ATO’s main Blog page.
