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 Why do some people print and read documents?
Author:Chris
Date:Thursday, 26th Aug 2004 13:27
Views:2,476 (excluding Digests and RSS feeds)
Category:Communications and Publishing
URL:http://www.freepint.com/go/b29806

Hi all,

I'm interested in pulling together more information about why some people prefer to print out documents rather than just reading them on screen.

I'd be particularly grateful for links to any published behavioural studies relating to this issue.

The sorts of things that I'm looking to answer are:

1. Are there particular documents that are more likely to be read on-screen rather than printed and read?
2. Are there demographic differences between people that read on-screen or print?
3. Are there particular times, tasks or circumstances for which people prefer on-screen / off-screen reading?
4. Are there particular formats that people prefer to read off-line?
5. How much time do people spend at work reading on-screen?
6. Are there stats concerning what proportion of documents people stop reading because they couldn't find what they were looking for, or how long they spend looking for relevant content within documents?

Thanks for any input!

Chris

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Topic Author Date ID
  Why do some people print and read documents?
Hi all, I'm interested in pulling together more information about why some people prefer to print out documents rather than ...
Chris 26/08/04 13:27 29806
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Hi Chris It depends what the document is for as to whether I print it or not. If I just ...
Steve 24/09/04 12:50 30059
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Have a look at this: http://www.mouthshut.com/readreview/59891-1.html I agree that proof reading is more accurate with a paper document. As far ...
Natasha Ashton-Astor 22/09/04 15:33 30018
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Hi Chris I just caught up with what's been going on at the Bar. A couple of useful references on this one: Harper, ...
Liz Orna 15/09/04 09:07 29939
    Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
In my view, the following issues are crucial: 1. Deteriorating eyesight. Degrees of visual impairment should not be forgotten. ...
ED 08/10/04 11:43 30227
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Here is a link to an article 'Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants' by Marc Prensky http://digbig.com/4bqpn It postulates that today's youth ...
Maeve 06/09/04 02:06 29870
    Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
'Digital Natives'? Have any of you ever inducted raw grads? Technology savvy they are not ... Please let's not go ...
Philip Sidaway 06/09/04 14:01 29872
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Hi Chris, I asked the question ' are you happy to read your favourite titles electronically or do you still prefer ...
Pam Foster 03/09/04 17:04 29867
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
bit late, but I just saw this!-Printing an E-doc out allows you to refer to that information, at a later ...
Sean Delay 03/09/04 15:57 29866
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
At the risk of further cluttering the exchange with anecdote and opinion rather than references to well-founded studies, I'd just ...
Sue H 01/09/04 15:56 29857
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
The simple answer, confirmed by research, is "because paper is easier to read". One study states baldly that nothing ...
Peter Kaiser 31/08/04 14:52 29846
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
I hardly ever print things off to read, it may stem from not having a printer at home. I ...
Katherine Ingham 28/08/04 10:09 29829
    Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
I'm dyslexic and if reading a large document/article I need to print documents out so I can use a light ...
Anon 31/08/04 14:55 29847
     Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Here are the reasons why I like print to my documents: 1) I can read them at my leisure. 2) I can ...
Vivienne 09/09/04 06:37 29891
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Interesting question, especially as we have just had a discussion about this at work after I had spent about 1 ...
David 27/08/04 12:40 29821
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
To follow on from Stuart's comments, I'm a journalist/subeditor and almost always print documents to read. It's too easy to ...
Penny 27/08/04 12:36 29820
    Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
I am a journalist/editor with a higher learning institution and I read/edit a lot of documents. My experience is this: ...
Karan 01/09/04 05:02 29851
    Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
In technical areas, while I've found people very happy to stick with computer documentation, when it comes to websites the ...
Jeremy Williams 29/08/04 14:22 29833
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Are you interested in the area of academic journals? I did some research on this last year and can ...
Emma Cass 27/08/04 11:39 29816
    Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Hi, Thanks for the input, everyone. I'm particularly interested in academic journals Emma - if you were able to post ...
Chris 27/08/04 11:43 29818
     Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Chris, why don't you try to find white papers from large corporations involved in printing for offices. I seem to ...
marc willems 27/08/04 13:13 29823
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Hi Chris I’ve been involved with the production of both technical and non-technical printed documents, and with the development of ...
Stuart 26/08/04 21:56 29812
   Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Chris -- very interesting study. Unfortunately I can't point you in the direction of any data sources, but I will ...
Philip Sidaway 26/08/04 14:44 29808
    Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
I think you will find that people with a lot of experience reading printed material will choose to ...
Paul Paine 31/08/04 14:16 29845
     Re: Why do some people print and read documents?
Although I edit both on-screen and on paper, generally I proofread from a paper document. Mistakes seem to slip past ...
Tom Edge 15/09/04 22:05 29944

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