Printing vs. Digital – Pros and Cons

We now live in a world where everything is digitized, everything is available online. Where earlier we stored data and information in bulky documents in the form of books, files and registers that needed maintenance and storage space, we now transform all our data into digital format. So what are the pros and cons of printing on one hand and digital data on the other?

The benefits of digital data

• The first benefit of course is easy storage and portability of digital data (soft copy), because digital data takes up a minuscule amount of space when compared with printed material. Take a simple example – if you’re going on holiday, you would probably limit yourself to a couple of books. However, if it’s an e-Reader you’re using, you can have dozens of books in a single slim gadget that takes up less space than a notepad. You can store so much data on a single hard-drive – the amount of data that could not even consider storing in hard copy form in your office or your home. Storing and recording data in digital format can free up a lot of space and storage resources
• Secondly, you don’t need to worry that humidity, termites or mold will get to your digital data because it is not vulnerable in the same way that printed material is.
• Thirdly, you’re saving a lot of paper when you store items in digital format. You’re also saving printer ink and the electricity that it takes to print – so data in digital format is certainly the eco-friendly option.
• Transmitting digital data in a matter of seconds whereas transporting printed documents physically can take much longer

Benefits of printing

• Though the benefits of digital data are many, there are some instances where only a printed document will do – for instance, when information has to be sent to someone who does not use or is unable to access the information in a digital format. Ask a die-hard reader about the joy of holding a book, smelling it, turning the pages with your hands and seeing it on the bedside table – it doesn’t really compare with the digital copy!
• A hard copy is something you can simply pick up and read or examine, without having to process it though any kind of computer or electronic device.
• When there is a power outage, you may not be able to access soft copies or digital data. So, for some vital documents, you will need to take printouts and store the hard copies.
• You need to back up your data because soft copies can be vulnerable to theft or destruction and may be irretrievably lost
• A hard copy cannot be corrupted or become destroyed because of a computer virus or bug. Electronic systems can malfunction, or may fail, and huge amounts of digital data can be lost in this way
• Also, electronic data can become unstable and the technology can become obsolete after some time. Printed hard copies will survive longer if handled and stored properly.

There are several pros and cons to digital and hard copy prints. Ultimately, it really depends on the person and their situation when deciding which is best. But if you are a person who prefers hard copy over soft copy, you can always save up to 80% on ink & toner cartridges when you shop at TomatoInk.

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