Tag: technology

Why We’ll Still Be Using Printers 20 Years From Now

The concept of the paperless office has been thrown around for many years now.

Those who’ve been captivated by the applications of technology think that this is a real possibility.

As such, they’ve been calling death to the printer for some time now.

Are they misguided or do they have a valid point?

I’ll admit – so much has changed in the printing landscape.

The digital world has taken over a lot of the publishing industry.

Since publishing and print go hand in hand, this has also affected the printing industry to a degree.

To top it off, the ever expanding information age that is upon us is putting even more demands on traditional print.

We now have a need to distribute information more rapidly and more efficiently than ever before. The need for a safe way to store that information also has a big part to play.

With all that said, make no mistake, the printer isn’t on its way out as some people are predicting.

At least, not in the next 20 years.

As of where we stand today, the paperless world is still one of fantasy, and I’ll tell you why.

The printer will still be around for at least two decades for some key reasons:

1. Digital solutions are not as bulletproof as people make it out to be.

The digital world is the most robust way to store and distribute information, right?

Perhaps it is.

But there are other variables to consider.

Sure, technology has transformed the way we handle data. In a majority of cases, it’s been a positive change.

After all, printers are an application of that technology.

However, there are major problems with the argument that printers will become obsolete.

Consider the alternative of storing and using information in a purely digital form.

It does not prevent the gradual decay of that data as time goes on. Software applications change and file formats evolve.

This means that you can still lose some of your information in the process if a file format is no longer compatible with the current technology.

There are solutions.

An easy one might be to use cloud storage. Some printers even offer that capability. But it doesn’t come without a security risk of your information being stolen.

Hackers are rampant, and for organizations that print sensitive information, it’s a major concern.

Then there’s the cost factor. Cloud storage will cost you for every GB of information stored.

This brings me to my next point.

2. No replacement to paper matches its cost effectiveness and convenience.

I’ll go out on a whim and say that paper will always have utility in our world.

First of all, it’s way easier on the eyes. I’m not sure that technology will be able to mimic the perfect contrast of black ink on white paper.

That reading experience is still valuable to many consumers.

Put simply, no solution offers the exact benefits of a sheet of paper.

The immediacy, flexibility, convenience, and cost are just a few of the elements that can’t be replicated.

Software applications change, and file formats evolve.

This means that you can still lose some of your information in the process if a file format is no longer compatible with the current technology.

In some industries, the paperless concept may be more applicable than others. In a tech space, it’s not impossible to imagine that electronic devices are the norm.

But across the board, this is not yet a feasible option.

Perhaps when decent tablets and phones don’t cost hundreds of dollars, printers may make an exit.

For now, they’re still one of the most efficient vehicles for the transfer of information.

For an office printer, that can translate to upwards of 20,000 pages per month

3. The printer will simply evolve to meet the growing demands as it has always done.

The printer hasn’t always been as sophisticated as it is now.

The devices that sit on our office desks today are so much more compact, elegant, and offer way more application than they’ve ever had.

Some of these applications include:

  • Cloud storage. This is where you store your information on a cloud database. It allows to access and print your documents over the web from any location. This relatively new feature has the potential to replace the traditional printing infrastructure of entire organizations completely.
  • Multi-functionality. Printers now have a myriad of functions including photocopying, fax machines, and more. This eliminates the need for having several devices that take up space. Especially for organizations where office real estate can get costly, this is critical.
  • Higher duty cycles and faster printing speeds. It’s not uncommon for a quality printer to print 20 to 30 black and white pages per minute. For an office printer, that can translate to upwards of 20,000 pages a month.
  • Network and wireless connectivity. This way you can easily connect your printer to your computer without the hassle of using wires.
  • Economy options. Duplex printing and page scaling are just a few of the options that can help save on printing costs. If you’re familiar with the printing landscape, you know that ink can cost you more than the printer itself. Any option that helps to undercut these high prices is a saving grace for many people.

These are just a few of the capabilities that printers today provide.

Chances are, they will continue to be even more powerful and convenient for users. As long as there is demand, manufacturers will make sure of it.

A final word

We don’t know what the distant future holds for the printing landscape.

Technology will no doubt continue to put a strain on the use of paper.

In any event, the consensus is clear.

Paper is too important with to be completely replaced by digital solutions.

It’s convenience, cost, and user experience is unmatched.

We must also remember that the printer is also the offspring of technology. As such, it can just as easily evolve to meet the ever changing demands.

After all, that’s the mantra of the world that we live in:

Evolve or die.

It’s way more likely that printing technology will achieve more adaptive perfection rather than die off.

Will Artificial Intelligence Take Our Jobs

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is a branch of computer science where human behavior is simulated in computers and machines.  A.I. can also involve machine learning, where the computers are effectively teaching themselves how to better act or react in different situations.  

 

This all sounds very impressive, and it is, but the true spectrum of possibilities with these technologies has yet to be fully seen or even discovered.  

 

Currently, people are figuring out how to use A.I. to analyze huge amounts of data or help most effectively route delivery trucks or trains, but there is a growing fear that a robot revolution is going to rise up and take everyone’s jobs.

 

Is a robot going to take your job?  


That’s a funny thought, but it’s not completely realistic – yet anyway.  

 

A.I. and computers are getting smarter every day, and humans have figured out how to make them do some pretty amazing things.  Anything from assembling cars to answering telephones can now be done by a robot-assisted by A.I. technology. 

 

That’s all great, but what about your job?  Are you next to be replaced by a self-teaching, computer-assisted robot? 

 

Let’s look at some of the things that make jobs ripe for automation or better suited to be done by an old-school human.

 


Repetition

 

Probably the biggest reason to automate (computerize) a job is that it’s repetitive. 

 

That’s why we see so many smart machines doing things in manufacturing – putting pieces in place in the same order every time is something that a robot can do very well.  Much the same for tasks like answering phones. 

 

It’s pretty easy to teach a computer to do or say the same things in the same order every time.  Things get trickier for AI when there are complicated decisions to be made or when the incoming information is abstract and difficult to interpret. 

 

This is why we probably won’t see robot CEOs or analysts anytime soon: the human decision engine is needed to draw conclusions and communicate information with the additional ability to do it differently based on whatever the situation requires at that time. 

 

 


No Brains Required

 

Part of what makes A.I. so tempting for so many businesses today is the promise that it will end up saving money and increasing efficiencies in mundane tasks.  This is great for the things that don’t require any real thought but gets hairy when anything unpredictable is involved. 

 

Managing people is a great example of an area in which A.I. doesn’t belong (yet).  Another frequently cited example is sales and marketing.  These professions probably rely on A.I. to help do their jobs with data and decision-making tools, but it’s unlikely we’ll be reporting to a robot boss anytime soon.

 


 

The Human Touch

 

While A.I. can generate some great information and can make routine tasks more automatic, there are some things that would feel wrong or downright scary if a robot were to be in control. 

 

Medicine and more specifically surgery are an area where having a person at the helm is comforting.  We could probably (maybe) train a computer to perform complex medical procedures, but it’s unlikely many people would feel comfortable going under that knife. 

 

Some things have been done by people in a very personal way for so long that turning full control over to A.I. just feels wrong.  It’s also important to note that, for as much as we hate going to the doctor or dentist, most people take comfort knowing that there is a human being with compassion and at least some level of concern taking care of them.

It can be very easy to go into a tailspin worrying about the robot revolution, but it’s important to remember how far away from anything resembling that situation we really are.  Computers can do some pretty amazing things, but the best use of that technology right now is in assisting a good ol’ human being in doing his or her job.  

 

It’s true that jobs in fields like data entry and manufacturing are likely to be the first for replacement by an intelligent machine, but we’re probably years (at least) away from that reality because the technologies are just so new.  

 


 

If you’re in a field that you think may be on the chopping block, the best thing you can do would be to start looking at ways to build knowledge and experience beyond your current skillsets.  

 

Many employers will pay for training programs, advanced degrees, or job shadowing opportunities, in order to increase your worth within the company.

 

The bottom line is that, while technology is becoming a much larger part of everything we do, it will be a while before we start seeing large swaths of our workforce being overtaken by robots.  

 

We do see jobs where people are basically acting like robots, performing the same action repetitively without much variation, which means that these types of jobs are the low hanging fruit—ripe to be automated.  

 

If you’re worried that you may someday be replaced by a smart machine, you should start looking at education and training programs that may be available to you at work now to ensure that you’re in charge of your own career.