A recent study conducted by Morgan Stanley has some interesting implications for one of historical mainstays of the modern office: the printer. The forward march of computer technology has prompted more business to switch to paperless operations, or at least to reduce their paper use considerably. Now it seems that the growing tablet market – and the iPad in particular – is speeding the demise of the office printer.

Morgan Stanley conducted a survey of 700 tablet users. They found that 46% did not print as much as they had before, and 41% of all tablet users listed decreased need to print as a main benefit of tablet use. That number was higher among those who answered that they printed “significantly less.” Of that group, 79% called print reduction the main benefit of tablet use. The study found that businesses reducing printer and paper use saw enormous monetary savings.

The study saw potentially dire implications for the printer industry. They noted that companies like Lexmark, which gets more than 70% of its revenue from printers, were especially endangered by the decrease of business printing due to tablet use. Companies like HP, which only gets 20% of its revenue from printers, were endangered but not as significantly.

To read the complete study in PDF form, click here.