Many Office Workers Admit To 'Printing Crimes' At Work

Toronto, ON - A new survey released today by Canon Canada and conducted by Ipsos Reid asked office workers across Canada about the "Top Five Office Offences" when it comes to using office printers/copiers/multifunction printing devices (MFP).

Among the things asked about were:

1. Personal Printing at Work: Sixty-seven percent of Canadian office workers have printed or copied personal material using the centralized office printer/copier. When it comes to the personal material workers often print at work, driving directions are printed most often (39%), followed closely by resumes (34%) and photos (18%). Interestingly, men are more likely than women to print driving directions at work (45% versus 35%, respectively).
2. Snooping by the Printer: When asked what they typically do when waiting for a printing job, over one quarter of survey respondents (28%) admit to "reading other materials left near the printer". Other responses include: "talk with colleagues about work" (34%), "nothing, stare off into space" (21%), "wonder if you did actually press the print button" (18%), "go get coffee" (11%), and "gossip or flirt with colleagues" (10%).
3. Attempting to Fix Devices On their Own: If the centralized office printer stops or if an error message appears, three out of four workers (76%) admit to trying to fix the machine themselves. Smaller proportions report that they "contact the office manager/administration personnel" (13%), "contact the IT department" (6%), or "place a service call (to the equipment provider/manufacturer)" (2%). Only 3% admit to doing nothing and leaving it "for someone else to deal with".
4. Failure to Track Printing Costs: Of the 32% of workers who have used a Multi-function Printing Device (MFP) with an input codes feature in the past six months, two-thirds (67%) admit they don't know how to input client codes or passwords on the MFP (33% say they do know how).
5. Not Printing in Colour while Admitting It is More Effective: Sixty-nine per cent of employees say they have printed a document in colour that was more effective than black and white. But despite this 43 per cent say they never personally print in colour, most often because of a lack of access to a colour printer (45%).

Interestingly, a significant number of respondents believe that the cost of colour printing is higher than it actually is. Thirty per cent of respondents think that the cost of printing in colour is 31 cents or more, when the actual average cost of colour printing today is approximately 13 cents per page .

These are the findings of a survey of 1,126 office workers across Canada over the age of 18. For this survey, workers were defined as those who are employed at companies with 10 or more employees and have used a centralized office printers/copiers/multifunction printing device in the past six months. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what would have been, had this entire population been polled. The online survey was conducted between April 1st and April 10th, 2006.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Rick Lempera
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
416.324.2296
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 300 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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