The report released by Photizo Group, titled The Future of Printing as Personal Computing Evolves, notes that mobile printing is currently one of the few growth markets in the printer industry and "shows great promise", but added that it is "no panacea" for the printer supplies stores and printing industry's challenges all together, particularly the diminishing desktop print volumes.
However, it stated that "the sooner the industry and mobile device vendors can simplify and universalize print functionality on smartphones and tablets, the faster mobile printing will grow", leading less users to find non-print alternatives for viewing and sharing documents.
The shift to mobile devices in the long run will, according to the report, "force users to develop new ways to manage and share documents", leaving printing to be "slowly squeezed" as digital methods of sharing and viewing documents get increasingly easier. It is also already quickening the transformation of paper-centric workflows to electronic business processes, which eliminate the need to print.
The results of the DWTAS 2013 US Office Worker Survey already showed that a large percentage of users do not need to print from their mobile devices, and those that do are mainly put off from printing due to a lack of awareness and the complexity of printing from smartphones and tablets.
The report from Photizo also looks at the forces driving computer technology, including hardware performance, device format, wearable computers, the computing environment, and new input technologies. The Group’s analysts then look at mobile printing solutions and printer-based apps; assessing whether vendors are keeping printing vital and what improvements need to be made in the future.
Ann Pride, Vice President of Consulting and Services at Photizo Group, commented: "Combined with a broad survey of current user thinking on the evolution of computers and computing devices, we have been able to evaluate how new developments in computing technology will impact the future of the hard copy industry. Our knowledge of printing and print habits allows us to develop a framework for evaluating how projected changes in computer technology will affect print."
Source: Photizo Group publishes report on the future of printing
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