IEEE Predicts Paper Printing May Disappear within Four Years

According to The INQUIRER, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) claimed that paper printing will disappear within four years, due to the rising popularity of tablets, particularly the cheaper ones.

“The printer will be a thing of the past and there’ll be no need for hard copies. The more time you spend online, the more at home you feel reading on tablets instead where everything can now be done virtually.” said Kevin Curran, a technical expert from IEEE.

Curran compared that Apple’s iPad has taken less than four years to achieve global dominance and now people cannot imagine a time without them. Also, Youtube has taken only about seven years to become prominent and people are ditching traditional forms of media consumption and becoming more comfortable with the virtual world. But the inkjet and laserjet printers at home will not be replaced by 3D printing due to the lack of affordability of good quality, and industry grade 3D printers may appear as dedicated services in retail or restaurants.

Curran also noted the digital convergence of information will be more economically friendly and won’t require as much tree harvesting or shipping.