U.S. analysts point out that total global printing will continue to rise

A survey conducted by the United States Electronic Document System Foundation (EDSF) shows that the total printing volume of the printing industry will continue to rise until 2020. The survey report titled “The Printing Industry in the Internet Age: What Kind of Communication Methods Adopted by Society in the 21st Century” reflects that the printing industry is still on the rise in the rapid development of digital technology.

This report shows that even in the year 2020, when the peak of print production is reached, printed products will still coexist with digital files. Digital technology will challenge printing with high storage, paper screens, long-lasting energy, and wireless. Analysts predict that the market share of printed documents will eventually be lost to audio-visual documents.

Prof. Frank Romano, the person in charge of the survey, stated that “the key to the problem is not how the printing will disappear, but how to survive, and to integrate into the world that links the future.”

The report pointed out that it is expected that there will be the following trends in the next 20 years:
● Electronic media information will increase dramatically. By 2020, 65% of information will be transmitted electronically.
● The total printing volume will increase. Analysts expect that paper consumption will increase from 1% to 2% a year to 2020.
● The printing method has changed dramatically. Once on-demand printing becomes the norm, nearly half of the printing jobs will be done by the printer and half by the printing press.