Almost 70% of Readers Will Not Abandon Print Books: Ricoh Study

By Dianna Dilworth 

ricohNearly 70 percent of consumers feel it is unlikely that they’ll give up on printed books by 2016, according to a new report from print company Ricoh and analyst firm IT Strategies with the University of Colorado at Boulder. The main reasons for preferring print are that these consumers like the look and feel of a real book, they don’t have to strain their eyes to read print and they like putting books on the bookshelf.

“The Evolution of the Book Industry: Implications for US Book Manufacturers and Printers”  report also revealed that college students prefer print textbooks to digital textbooks, for reasons of concentration. According to the report, respondents reported that a digital display is too distracting.

The study also claims that 60 percent of eBooks that are downloaded are not actually read. It did not include any metrics about how many print books are purchased and not read.