Sticking to paper

In some areas, however, the use of paper is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Many people still have a cultural preference for paper-based output. For example, Sonora Quest Laboratories in Tempe, Ariz., is automating its medical test lab processes, but at the end of the day, health care providers still want a printout.

"A lot of doctors still want a hard copy. [They] like to show it to the patient," says CIO Bob Dowd.

People like to have paper copies of documents that represent the final outputs of transactions, says Richard Harper, senior researcher, socio-digital systems at Microsoft Research. "Paper can act as the physical embodiment of a transaction," such as an insurance policy, he explains.

Even that could eventually change. More than 40 percent of the workforce was born after 1975 and has always used computers, says Dunn. "They've learned to absorb and retain information from screen displays ... and they look at paper as redundant," she says.