OKI^® Printing Solutions “Future of Printing Survey” Challenges Past Predictions on Technology’s Impact on Business

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J.--(EON:Enhanced Online News)--Experts have long forecasted how advancements in technology will impact the future, virtually transforming life as we know it. For example, voice recognition would make typing obsolete, videoconferencing would abolish traditional telephone use and a digital workplace would eliminate the need for paper.

“Despite the migration to a digital way of life, the survey results prove that IT leaders responsible for implementing technology into the workplace still consider printers essential for day-to-day business functions”

Consider at least one of those predictions challenged. According to the OKI Printing Solutions “Future of Printing Survey,” IT professionals nationwide expect to print about the same amount or more often in the future as they do today. The survey reveals that printing has become a “security blanket” for most professionals who, despite the availability of digital editing tools, still trust the printed page for reviewing documents at work.

The OKI Printing Solutions survey captured the printer usage habits of 700 IT professionals nationwide, across a variety of industries. According to the survey, the majority of respondents consider printing to be “indispensable” or “important” to their job. Key results of the OKI Printing Solutions “Future of Printing Survey” include:

• 90% of respondents consider their business printer to be indispensable or important, while only 1% consider their business printer to be not at all important
• 78% of respondents expect to print about the same amount or more often in the future as they do today
• 78% of respondents still prefer to review printed documents, whether in combination with reviewing on-screen or alone

“Despite the migration to a digital way of life, the survey results prove that IT leaders responsible for implementing technology into the workplace still consider printers essential for day-to-day business functions,” said Candice Dobra, Vice President, Product Marketing for Oki Data Americas. “People regard printing as a security blanket, in that they place more trust in a tangible document versus what they view on a computer screen. The affordability of high-quality, in-house printing has encouraged businesses to embrace printing as an indispensable part of business culture.”

Survey Methodology

The OKI Printing Solutions “Future of Printing Survey,” conducted by IDG Research Services Group, surveyed a total of 700 IT professionals across a range of industries. The survey obtained responses across all company sizes, including small and home offices (1-99 employees), small-to-medium businesses (100-999 employees) and enterprise (1,000+ employees).

The OKI Printing Solutions “Future of Printing Survey,” has proven that regardless of industry or company-size, printing remains critical to business productivity and performance. The survey also captured just how much business printers are utilized in the office, for work as well as for personal use. OKI Printing Solutions is a leader in showing companies how they can save substantially on their overall printing costs by incorporating the most appropriate printing technology and feature-sets based on their unique business needs.

Editor’s Note: For complete survey results, including breakdowns by business size and industry, please contact Megan Shames at mshames@domus1.com or Kerry Butler at kbutler@domus1.com.

About Oki Data Americas, Inc.

Oki Data Americas, Inc., headquartered in Mount Laurel, N.J., and a subsidiary of Oki Data Corporation of Japan, markets PC peripheral equipment under the OKI Printing Solutions brand, including digital color and monochrome printers, color and monochrome multifunction products and serial impact dot matrix printers. As business printing solutions specialists, Oki Data Americas provides world-class printing technology and real-world solutions designed to help manage workflow and optimize business performance. Oki Data Americas is ISO 9001:2000 certified and also offers a full line of options, accessories and consumables. Most OKI Printing Solutions' products have earned the ENERGY STAR®. Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., parent company to Oki Data Corporation, is a $5.8 billion multinational corporation with headquarters in Tokyo and is a world leader in information processing systems, telecommunications and electronics.

OKI, Reg. Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. ENERGY STAR Reg. T.M. U.S. EPA.

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