Running Notes

1 - There are some rare cases where users do need to print for example contracts, docs that need to be signed by client, etc..
But the most common in my opinion is reason #2 and I think it usually is the most difficult to solve since most users don't like change.

2 - Some thoughts about when people print:
1) Nipping into a face-to-face meeting and need reference material to work from. Not practical or polite to have a laptop in there at the time.
2) Library cards. Did an app a while back where library loan info was inserted into the front covers of books and other resources.
3) Peel off labels, such as shipping/postage labels.
4) Invoices to the customer.
5) Lazyness.

But as Carlos says, there are definitely some times where you legally have to provide hard copy.

3 - I think the primary reason many people want to print these readily available docs is a lack of trust. People are afraid that if they don't print it they may never see it again. Some people just distrust computers in general and may have at one time lost a doc when something stupid happened like a
BSOD or something like that. When you see someone's office so stacked up with papers that the computer on the desk is hard to find that person is never going to go to fully electronic versions of any document.

4 - I do print a lot from notes and think it's none of the reasons you have given.

Offline entirely - printed info I can read any time without a pc. I can show someone without having to startup the pc or give them a url. It's instant.

Updates - it's easier to take a printed copy and make notes, comments and changes to it, then deal with the online copy. You have backup and versioning.

Meetings - I print notes for meetings as I can make comments easily. I hate to see people in a meeting hiding behind the laptop screen - they are usually doing non-meeting tasks.

Navigation - online you can only view in the sequence dictate by the designer. With paper I can easily go between pages in any sequence I want.

I do have a laptop, netbook, treo and iTouch but find paper easier to read.

5 - Lots of reasons. It is hard to pin the laptop on the bulletin board. It is difficult to use a laptop or smart phone while standing on a swaying subway train. It is hazardous to take your electonics to the cafeteria where soda and potato chip crumbs might spill on the keyboard. It is better to scrawl red pen all over the printed report rather than the monitor. It is easier to read printed material when sitting in bright sunlight on a park bench. It is more difficult to create a soaring folded Blackberry than a paper airplane. As I said, lots of reasons.

6 - Hmm, all good points (particularly the paper airplane!). These particular documents puzzle me, since they are almost like news bulletins. The reader isn't editing them, or bringing them in to meetings. More like information that would come across a feed reader, but the target users aren't typically feed reader "types". An interesting thought though, maybe I could use RSS feeds to get them the docs and MAYBE they would consider printing less?

I'm certainly not saying that there is no place for printing, when editing a document I like it on paper versus on screen, I'm just trying to understand all the reasons someone feels they HAVE to print ALL documents.

Thanks for the responses! Keep em coming!

7 - I can't say it better than Ben!

But I can add that while we at HP are happy to support all the printing needs that arise from the reasons that Ben gave, we are in fact working hard on solving the problem of pinning the laptop to the bulletin board. Our next generation HP laptops will include a pop-out pin that can be used for this purpose. It is important to understand, however, that the warranty on the pin covers only 60 days of use, so you will need to purchase pin refill cartridges regularly in order to continue using this convenient feature.

8 - I had a user who would print out and file all of her emails yet still leave the emails on the server.

9 - I like to print documents so that I can mark them up with edits/ideas/reminders. It's a shame that Notes printing is still not on par with the other major business applications. Any attempt I have ever seen at the "paperless office" has always resulted in MORE printing.

10 - Folks here print documents for a couple of reasons. (1) they are required to for what are considered historical documents relating to the business of the organization. Those printed docs must be prepared to be stored at the State Library; (2) We have execs who couldn't live without a printed copy of their calendar even with their Blackberry in hand; and (3)often when we have to process FOIA requests both a printed and electronic copy is often required.

11 - @7 - Certainly not trying to put your employer out of business. Typing on an HP laptop at the moment. Are you guys working on a laptop we can edit on the screen with a red pen and it edits the document?

@8 - Been there, done that.

@9 - Completely agree with you there. If I could have more progammatic control, I could set up print jobs for the users that would eliminate at least some of the printing. When they print the wrong thing, or documents rather than views, etc.

@10 - Yes, what I am most interested in understanding is your point #2. Those that can't live without a printed copy of things they seemingly don't need printed. Why???

12 - Love Ben's answer but then I find most of what he writes far beyond the rest of our imaginations and love it.

Um, no one said this yet, but er, how do I say this politely....vision testing?

I recently became acutely aware of my impending need for bi-focals. Welcome to 40, ugh!

I have noticed that no matter how large a screen we get some people, they have either magnification or a large resolution set up(800x 600) and perhaps they just can't read what is on the screen anymore at normal 10 point size?

Not saying this is everyone's reason but it has become noticeable enough to me at some clients.

Executives of course never read anything online, it's always printed for them LOL, see many Dilbert strips on this phenomenon.

13 - Tax season. I print-out the required docs for my accountant and FedEX them to him. Some files get burned to a disc, which I also FedEX. I tried password protected spreadsheets and e-mailing them...two weeks, six months later...they would forget the password and we wasted lots of time fixing it. Paper works everytime.

Also, on short flights, it's a waste of time firing-up the laptop, opening the attachment in the proper program, then attempting to read for :10 before you have to shut-down the laptop and land. I've read entire reports and commented on them, before I could ever get the laptop fired-up and loaded (ymmv). On longer flights, paper outlasts batteries every time. Printing 4-up duplex allows for 8:1 page-count compression and can then be a lot lighter than a laptop, and more compact.

Anything that I need to have forever (tax files, court documents, state provided receipts), all backed-up with paper and stored accordingly; the latter two are provided on paper only.

Visiting a client to attend a meeting. They provide documentation to review...your laptop is disallowed from logging-into their network to get to the filesystem and open the file; it's faster and more practical to just read a piece of paper.

Navigating a sailboat is best served with charts; GPS is nice, but if your system crashes, lost power, or are in a serious storm and can't get a reliable satellite link, paper will get you home safely.

Plus, what Ben L. stated. Oh, and Ben... a BlackBerry bends easier if you remove the battery first--then fold. :)

14 - I believe Bruce and Ben (@4 and @5) basically hit the nail on the head, in particular, paper is easier to read, markup and use than a laptop. I remember reading a comment from a commander in Afghanistan to a (naive) reporter about why they did not use laptops, GPS, and other technology more and the commander pointed out that should one of these things take a bullet, you basically have a brick. A map takes a bullet though and it is still a pretty usable map.

Technology is great and wonderful, but until it gets to the point where for the equivalent of $0.25 I can get the equivalent of the morning paper (for however long the morning paper still exists!), I'm still printing.

15 - Hmm, hadn't thought about the battery life issue. Good point.

I'm certainly not saying that we should eliminate all printing, just trying to understand why some people feel the need to print everything they come across. You don't keep a copy of every newspaper you've ever read, do you?