/
/
/

The move towards the ‘Paperless Office’ has been a gradual one.
Until the 1970s paper documents dominated office operations, but in the mid-1970s, word processing emerged, enabling typists to edit texts electronically without having to retype entire pages. This development may have led to an
article in Business Week on June 30, 1975, entitled ‘The Office of the Future’ which contained a whole series of predictions about the paperless office. But what has become of these prophecies?  

The years that followed were also characterized by technological developments that came closer to realizing the vision of the paperless office.
The electronic spreadsheets developed in 1979 automated budget calculations and other accounting tasks. This was followed by integrated electronic office systems and then the arrival of the Internet as a universal way of easily sharing information in the 1990s. The arrival of Cloud-based storage and solutions in the mid-2000s began to further reduce the reliance on paper through the use of digital files and emails.   

Despite these developments, the paperless office is still not a universal reality and print continues to play a significant role in business operations. Although digital workflows have significantly reduced paper consumption, the dependency on printing remains. Over 70% of companies in
Quocirca's latest study state that printing is important for their business processes. Figures from
PWC in 2023 showed that office workers in the U.S. still use 10,000 sheets of paper annually. Figures from
Quocirca show the top reasons for the continued use of paper in business being that customers continue to send paper documents (36%), legal requirements (30%), and the need for physical signatures (29%). According to IDC1, 43% of companies also say that paper documents are still essential to their business processes, followed by legal requirements, which echoes the Quocirca findings. 

How printing behavior differs across different generations 

The continued use and reliance on print is believed to be linked to varying behaviors and pressures across different generations in the workplace. Each generation brings its expectations and needs regarding print. It is therefore important to understand these to ensure your business has the necessary infrastructure in place to cater to these requirements and maintain an inclusive and fully operational workplace. 

Key generations in the workplace today include:  

Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964): This generation has grown up with printed materials and printed information, has used print and printed information for a long time, and may still rely on traditional printing methods, but is gradually adapting to digital alternatives. Although they may tend to print more, due to their age many will retire in the next decade and their preferences will have less of an impact on the paperless office evolution once they leave the workforce. 

Generation X (born 1965-1980): They have also grown up experiencing office print and are used to using printed information, but are more likely to embrace digital workflows while still using print for certain tasks. Interestingly, despite having grown up with print,
Quocirca's Report from 2022 showed that 76% of older responders (born before 1977) felt it was important in 2022 compared to just 51% who felt it would still be important in 2025. 

Millennials (born 1981-1996): Born as the ‘Digital Age’ began and often described as ‘Digital Natives’, this generation has grown up with the technology from an early age. They may favor digital documents and information sharing and prioritize flexibility but may still use print for specific business needs. The research by
Quocirca mentioned above also shows that of those born between 1978 and 1987, 76% felt print was important in 2022 but it dropped to 62% feeling it would be important in 2025.  

Generation Z (born 1997-2012): Also born in the ‘Digital Age’ and arguably even more ‘Digital Natives’ than Millennials. They are digital natives who prefer digital documentation and mobile printing solutions. 

Excursus on the young generation: a look at the education system

For a long time, digitalization was considered non plus ultra in education, even for the youngest generation. The Scandinavian countries were particularly pioneers when it came to the use of digital media in elementary schools. However, some countries in Europe are now increasingly relying on traditional print media again.


  • Sweden,     a country that was actually very advanced in the use of modern technology in the classroom and where the classic textbook has been largely replaced, is now going back to books in the first years of school after researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm examined Sweden's digital strategy and found a downward trend in learning performance. The more digital media is used in lessons, the poorer the children's performance, they found out.
  • In
    Denmark    , Education Minister Mathias Tesfaye apologized in an interview to Danish young people for turning them into “guinea pigs in a digital experiment”.
  • Additionally,
    Italy     wants to extend the ban on smartphones and tablets in Italian schools, which has been in place for years, to include educational purposes for children and young people up to the age of 14. In an interview, Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara refers to studies that show that excessive use has a negative impact on a child's memory, concentration, and learning.


Research has shown that ‘digital natives’ absorb information from printed books much better from screens, even though they have grown up with digital media. They have also found that young readers are more likely to skim longer texts when using iPads or e-readers. Studies by the
German Dortmund Institute for School Development Research (IFS) have found that books are superior for language acquisition. People who read books or are read to are much better at expressing themselves linguistically than those who do not. According to the study, vocabulary is particularly poor if children often read on their cell phones or tablets but never read books.

The phenomenon of
digital fatigue has also been recognized as a growing problem. The bright light from digital devices can lead to eye strain, headaches, and even sleep disorders.

There is also evidence that the amount of time that children and young people spend in front of digital screens is significantly associated with
myopia. In the
province of Zhejiang in China, the use of tablets has consequently been limited to a maximum of 30 percent of teaching time. The national government now also recommends paper and pencil instead of learning apps.

What does that mean for the future? Not a paperless, but a less-paper office? 

Perhaps the vision of the paperless office will never materialize, but it seems more than realistic that the office will become even less paper-based in the future than it is today. There are several reasons for this. 

Digitization has already led to a significant reduction in paper processes. Intelligent document processing (IDP), which uses AI and machine learning, will reduce the need for printing even further. According to
Quocirca, 62% of document capture respondents said they plan to increase their spending on IDP and, according to
McKinsey, over 30% of work could already be automated by 2030. While OCR, for example, has already helped digitize paper-based workflows and automate document processing by extracting and classifying information from paper-based documents in recent years, AI-driven OCR will make this process even faster and smarter. Another example is electronic signatures, which have already led to important forms and contracts being provided with valid, digital signatures. AI will further speed up the process of filling out and signing forms digitally and could further reduce the use of paper in industries such as banking, healthcare, and education. Last but not least, many people, possibly generationally as described above, still print out long documents to make them easier to read and understand. AI-generated summaries could make this superfluous, as they make the essential content more quickly accessible. 

This is likely to accelerate even further as European policy gives priority to digitalization.
The European Commission has Digital Targets for 2030, including the aim of having ‘75% of EU companies using Cloud, AI, or Big Data’ and 'More than 90% of SMEs to reach at least a basic level of digital intensity'.  

Europe will also tighten environmental regulations and initiatives to achieve the net zero target by 2050. On the question of sustainability in relation to print vs. digital, please read this
blog article for further information. 

Another important factor is that Europe's population will shrink and age and the aforementioned generational change will have a lasting impact on printing. According to the European Commission2, around 25% of the workforce could belong to Generation Z as early as 2030.  

At the same time,
start-ups will use digital platforms to grow at an unprecedented rate, making the use of paper less attractive to these businesses. 

Ensuring your business is prepared for all print needs and expectations 

According to
Quocirca, 75% of businesses are accelerating their plans to digitize paper-based processes, with SMBs predicting a drop of 6% in print volumes over the following 12 months. 

Whatever your path, Konica Minolta's powerful solutions make it the ideal partner for your digital workplace, print, and document processes: 


  • Multifunctional Print Devices (MFPs)     like Konica Minolta’s bizhub range offer flexible print options but also
    scanning to digitize documents     for safe and secure storage and retrieval from cloud storage. The bizhub range continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of every generation of workers. 

  • Mobile and Cloud Print     allow employees to print documents from anywhere and on any compatible device, which supports remote and hybrid work environments, as well as office working.  

  • Managed Print Services     offer an excellent way to scale print to meet demand while optimizing printing costs, improving efficiency, and reducing waste. 
Share:

Rate this article