News that the market for report and accounts printing is likely to be subject to further decline shouldn't come as a surprise.

The writing's been on the wall, or rather in a PDF, for a number of years now as evidenced in this blog from two years back. It referenced the growing number of companies that only volunteered R&A information in PDF form via Financial Reports Service, one of the bulk providers of this information.

That said, I don't think printed report and accounts will disappear altogether, because they still provide a valuable way for businesses to communicate their brand values directly into someone's hands, with all print's lovely tactile powers. And for those who need the info to hand, reaching for a report on a shelf, or comparing reports side-by-side, is a lot easier with a hard copy.  

I also wonder whether a different sort of R&A opportunity will emerge as people (especially those at city institutions) realise how costly and unsatisfactory the self-printing of large document PDFs is. I can envisage a reports-printed-on-demand type of service whereby the R&A required are printed to order and mailed out the same day, to accompany the PDF info. This would reduce print and stock holding costs for the plcs, while the added-value print spend would be directed at those who really merit it and really want the information. In fact, is anyone providing this service already?