Business documents span office paper, commercial print, mailed transactions, managed document services and the equipment used to produce them. The measures below are deliberately separated by population and geography: most are United States estimates or observed administrative and industry figures, while several historical recycling findings come from EPA case studies rather than a national benchmark.
Key Business Document Statistics
The most useful figures across the business-document ecosystem include:
- In 2018, 3,970 thousand U.S. tons of office-type paper were generated in United States municipal solid waste, an EPA estimate equal to about 1.4% of total MSW generation.
- In 2000, office-type paper generation reached 7,420 thousand U.S. tons in the EPA series, the peak among the reported years.
- In 2018, other commercial printing accounted for 2,000 thousand U.S. tons of United States MSW, including varied commercial print items.
- In 2024, U.S. commercial-printing employer firms recorded $68.18 billion in sales, shipments or revenue, excluding screen printing and books.
- In fiscal year 2024, USPS handled 112.456 billion mail pieces in the United States.
- In fiscal year 2024, USPS Marketing Mail volume was 57,506 million pieces and revenue was $15,373 million.
- In fiscal year 2024, USPS First-Class Mail volume was 44,312 million pieces and revenue was $25,414 million.
- In an EPA review, office-building solid waste was generally 85% to 95% mixed paper by weight across reviewed recovery programs.
- Across 12 EPA office source-separation case-study sites, paper diverted from total solid-waste disposal averaged 34% by weight.
- In the EPA table, bank and insurance office sites had 80% paper in waste and 60% recovered paper during the case-study period.
- In the same EPA table, general-office sites had 68% paper in waste and 27% recovered paper during the case-study period.
- In 2020 Form 10-K reporting, ARC operated 148 offsite service centers for printing, scanning and information-management needs.
- In 2020 Form 10-K reporting, ARC served clients onsite in approximately 10,750 office locations.
- In 2024, one reporting company recorded $18,018,373 across its Document Management and Document Conversion segments.
- ENERGY STAR estimates that making all United States imaging equipment ENERGY STAR certified could save more than $32 million in electricity costs annually.
- ENERGY STAR says certified printers, copiers and scanners can save up to 35% versus conventional equipment, depending on product and use.
- In May 2024, United States printing workers numbered 204,640 and had mean annual wages of $46,260.
- In fiscal year 2024, the GPO awarded $469.2 million in private-sector printing contracts.
Contents
- Office-paper scale and waste trends
- Commercial printing and publishing data
- Mail and marketing-document delivery trends
- Office recycling and diversion outcomes
- Document-management operations and financial scale
- Printer energy and workplace economics
Business Document Statistics: Office-Paper Scale and Waste Trends
EPA’s office-type paper category is a useful proxy for paper-heavy document activity, but it is not identical to business documents. It includes copier paper, computer printout and stationery from offices, homes and institutions, while broader paper-and-paperboard categories include still more products.
| Year | Office-type paper generation | Geography and unit |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1,520 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
| 1970 | 2,650 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
| 1980 | 4,000 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
| 1990 | 6,410 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
| 2000 | 7,420 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
| 2005 | 6,620 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
| 2010 | 5,260 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
| 2018 | 3,970 thousand tons | United States MSW estimate |
Source: EPA, Nondurable Goods: Product-Specific Data. These are estimates, and the reported 2000 peak is only a peak within the EPA years shown, not an all-time claim.
The same EPA source estimates 26 million short tons of United States paper and paperboard nondurable-product waste generation in 2018. That total covers many products beyond business documents, so it should not be treated as a document-volume figure.
The long series shows office-type paper generation rising from 1,520 thousand tons in 1960 to 7,420 thousand tons in 2000, then falling to 3,970 thousand tons in 2018. The decline is a waste-generation trend, not a direct measure of pages printed, pages digitally created or document use in workplaces.
Business Document Statistics: Commercial Printing and Publishing Data
Commercial printing provides an economic measure of document-related production, while EPA waste categories show the material stream left after use. Neither is a complete count of business documents.
| Measure | 1960 | 2000 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other commercial printing waste | 1,260 thousand tons | 7,380 thousand tons | 2,000 thousand tons |
| Books in United States MSW | — | — | 690,000 tons, 0.2% |
| Magazines in United States MSW | — | — | 980,000 tons, 0.3% |
Source: EPA, Nondurable Goods: Product-Specific Data. Commercial printing includes brochures, reports, menus and invitations; books and magazines are related print categories rather than business documents specifically.
For current industry scale, the 2024 Census AIES industry summary reports $68.18 billion in sales, shipments or revenue for United States commercial-printing employer firms other than screen printing and books. Commercial screen-printing employer firms recorded $13.08 billion, while book-printing employer firms recorded $3.78 billion.
The same 2024 Census data reports annual payroll of $15.92 billion for commercial printing other than screen and books and $857.5 million for book-printing employer firms. These are industry operating measures, not page counts or totals for the entire business-document universe.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, AIES00BASIC 2024 industry summary statistics.
Business Document Statistics: Mail and Marketing-Document Delivery Trends
USPS piece counts capture a major delivery channel for business correspondence, transactions and marketing, but total mail also includes household, periodical and other populations. The national series shows a lower volume in 2024 than in 2015.
| Year | USPS mail handled |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 154.342 billion pieces |
| 2018 | 146.402 billion pieces |
| 2019 | 142.562 billion pieces |
| 2020 | 129.171 billion pieces |
| 2021 | 128.842 billion pieces |
| 2022 | 127.444 billion pieces |
| 2023 | 116.174 billion pieces |
| 2024 | 112.456 billion pieces |
Source: USPS, Pieces of Mail Handled, Number of Post Offices, Income, and Expenses Since 1789. These are total USPS mail measures, not business-document-only counts.
USPS fiscal-year 2024 service data separates important document-related channels. Marketing Mail totaled 57,506 million pieces and $15,373 million in revenue, while First-Class Mail totaled 44,312 million pieces and $25,414 million in revenue.
Periodicals added 2,748 million pieces and $912 million in revenue in fiscal year 2024. Marketing Mail includes catalogs and other direct bulk mailings, First-Class Mail includes personal and business correspondence and transactions, and Periodicals are a related print category.
Source: USPS, U.S. Postal Service Reports Fiscal Year 2024 Results.
Business Document Statistics: Office Recycling and Diversion Outcomes
Historical EPA research illustrates why office-paper recovery results need local context. The findings come from reviews, surveys and case studies, not a current national recycling rate.
- Office-building solid waste was generally 85% to 95% mixed paper by weight in the EPA review’s office recovery programs.
- Paper diverted from total solid-waste disposal averaged 34% by weight across 12 EPA case-study sites.
- Desk-top and central-container programs had average diversion factors of 38% and 40%, respectively.
- A general office facility generated 1.55 pounds of waste per employee per day, including 1.32 pounds of paper in the EPA office-waste survey.
- Bank and insurance facilities generated 2.31 pounds per employee per day, including 2.17 pounds of paper, in that survey.
The case-study table also reported different outcomes by office type. Bank and insurance company sites had 80% paper in waste, 60% recovered paper and 75% recovery effectiveness, while general-office sites had 68% paper in waste, 27% recovered paper and 40% recovery effectiveness.
Source: EPA, Optimization of Office Paper Recovery Systems. The report’s findings are historical and vary with building, business type, collection design and paper-generating activities.
EPA’s office-paper table reports 4,090 thousand tons recycled in 2000 and 4,110 thousand tons in 2005. Later years are unavailable for that recycling-pathway series in the cited table, so these values do not support a current recycling rate.
Business Document Statistics: Document-Management Operations and Financial Scale
Managed document services show how organizations outsource high-volume printing, scanning, conversion and information-management work. The available figures describe particular companies and operating footprints rather than the whole market.
ARC’s 2020 Form 10-K reported 148 offsite service centers serving high-volume printing, overflow print capacity, scanning and information-management needs in the United States and internationally. The company also reported serving clients onsite in approximately 10,750 office locations.
Source: ARC Document Solutions, Inc. 2020 Form 10-K. The office-location figure is an approximate company-reported count.
A separate 2024 Form 10-K gives a narrow view of segment economics:
| Reporting-company segment | 2024 revenue | 2024 gross profit |
|---|---|---|
| Document Management | $7,523,874 | $6,545,612 |
| Document Conversion | $10,494,499 | $4,979,314 |
| Combined reported segments | $18,018,373 | — |
Source: Document Management and Document Conversion segment information, 2024 Form 10-K. These are one issuer’s segment results, not an industry total.
Business Document Statistics: Printer Energy and Workplace Economics
Equipment choices add an energy dimension to document operations. ENERGY STAR’s figures are program estimates or product capabilities, while labor, procurement and contracting data describe specific United States populations.
ENERGY STAR estimates that making all United States imaging equipment ENERGY STAR certified could save more than $32 million in electricity costs annually and avoid 596 million pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions each year. The scenario covers all equipment becoming certified; it is not measured savings from a particular workplace.
ENERGY STAR also says certified imaging equipment can save up to 35% versus conventional equipment. The actual result varies by product, usage profile and comparison equipment.
Source: ENERGY STAR, Imaging Equipment.
In May 2024, United States printing workers numbered 204,640, with mean annual wages of $46,260. Within that occupation group, printing press operators numbered 145,110 with mean annual wages of $46,620, prepress technicians and workers numbered 23,070 with mean annual wages of $49,130, and print binding and finishing workers numbered 36,470 with mean annual wages of $43,040.
Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2024. These are occupation measures, not all workers employed by printing businesses.
Federal procurement supplies another observed demand measure. In fiscal year 2024, the Government Publishing Office awarded $469.2 million in private-sector printing contracts across more than 73,000 orders, and nearly 75% of printing ordered by Federal agencies from GPO was performed by private-sector firms.
GPO’s 2024 program description says it competitively awarded contracts to approximately 1,000 printing contractors in a typical year. The procurement figures cover GPO orders and should not be interpreted as total government or business printing spending.
Source: GPO Print Procurement Program Helps Local Businesses in 2024.