Dwindling demand for paper, printers

The paperless age is upon us, according to a new study. Sales of paper and printers continue to decrease as more wireless devices and mobile employees infiltrate the workplace.

"Paper demand peaked in 2006 and has declined every year subsequently between 3-10 percent year over year and is now tracking 20 percent+ below the 2006 peak," Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore told CNET.

Printer suppliers' June quarter results were "particularly weak as Canon, Epson, Lexmark and Xerox all missed expectations," Whitmore reports.

Mobile phone and tablet use, which according to the analyst is the catalyst for paperless ubiquity. However, some companies may speed the plow to this reality as electronic document imaging becomes a priority and significantly reduces paper repositories in-house.

Data storage and automated archiving for information management could be key in further weakening demand for hard copy retention and business processes dedicated to printing and filing. Paper may not ever totally vanish from the office, but technology has made a considerable impact in just over five years.

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