“How Can I Reduce My Printing Costs?”

A question that is asked by Directors and Office Managers on a daily basis across the country. Unfortunately, this question often goes unanswered; leaving businesses with soaring printing costs and finance managers with a headache! Research firm The Gartner Group found that, on average, businesses spend up to 3% of their annual turnover on printing. The good news is that there are ways to reduce the costs associated with office printers & photocopiers…

1. Control Use of Colour

Documents look better and comprehension is aided by the use of colour. So why wouldn’t you print everything in colour? The answer is simple – it costs dramatically more than printing in monochrome! Taking steps to make sure your staff use colour prudently is the biggest single factor to reducing your printing costs.

There are a number of strategies you could employ, starting with staff training to ensure they are aware of the cost implication of printing in colour. You could limit the number of colour capable devices, or you could supply mono-only print drivers to staff who need to use a colour device but have no business need for colour. Most Multi-functional devices (MFD) have the capability for the administrator to enable functions on the machine, such as colour, on an individual user basis.

Simply put, controlling colour printing is integral to reducing your printing costs.

2. Limit the Use of Desktop Printers

If your business is one of thousands in the UK still using desktop or personal printers, then the chances are you are over-spending on your printing by hundreds, or potentially thousands, of pounds. By switching from a fleet of desktop printers to a multi-functional printer (MFP) you will be sure to make huge annual savings on your businesses printing costs.

An MFP acts as an all-in-one printer, photocopier and scanner for your office; it will both reduce costs and improve performance. Another advantage of acquiring a multi-functional office printer is that you are able to secure a service contract with the machine. This means you will save on toner costs and, as long as you choose a reputable supplier, you will no longer have to worry about repairs or maintenance as you would with a desktop printer.

If you are concerned that the initial outlay for the upgrade will be expensive, then fear not. Any reputable supplier will offer you the option to lease your photocopier and pay monthly. Multi-functional photocopiers are an essential requirement for any business wanting to both control and reduce their printing costs.

3. Control wastage

Do you have a waste paper bin next to your printer/copier? If so, you are not alone! Most MFDs have a mailbox system which can dramatically cut down on wasted prints. With a mailbox, your prints are stored on the machines hard disk until you are present at the machine. When you authenticate at the machine you can access your prints and choose which you wish to print and which you want to delete. If, for example, you printed a spreadsheet then realised it had spilled onto two pages you would simply re-size, re-print and only print out the correct version.

Another good way to avoid waste is by simply using less paper. Most print devices can print duplex (double-sided) and the majority can enforce this with a dramatic reduction in your paper use. Simple yet effective!

4. Print Management

If you already operate a multi-functional office printer or photocopier, but still need to reduce printing costs, implementing a manged print service (MPS) may be the ideal solution for you. When used effectively, a MPS will take a holistic view of the printing needs of your organisation. A MPS will start with the deployment of hardware that meets the specific document requirements of your business. Further to this, a print management software would be deployed to allow management to monitor printing behaviour of individual users and departments throughout the organisation. In July 2017, SME reported that 52% of businesses aren’t actually aware of how much they are spending on printing; identifying areas of waste is the first step to eliminating them!

Once you are aware of the key areas of waste in your business, the next step to reducing your print costs is to take back control. Print management software, such as uniFLOW, allows businesses to implement rules and restrict access of particular users/departments. For example, you may want to allow your marketing team access to colour printing, but restrict the finance department to printing in black & white. Similarly you may enforce all printing of emails to be duplex and mono since these are generally for information only. Such rules are easy to implement and offer guaranteed savings on your print expenditure.

5. Conserve Energy

At first thought, your office printer may not seem to be a huge energy drain. However, when you consider that the device is consuming energy every working hour of every working day, you’d be forgiven for having second thoughts.

Heavy R&D investment by industry leading manufacturers such as Canon has led to the development of new energy saving technologies. Canon’s On-Demand Fixing Technology, for example, has reduced power consumption in certain models by 70%. Choosing an energy efficient photocopier is a great way to reduce the costs associated with printing and ensure your business is green. It is good practice to check with your supplier that your office printer is energy efficient.

Free Print Audit

If you want to reduce your office printing costs and are not sure where to start then why not get in touch for a free Condor print audit?

One of our highly trained specialists will analyse your complete print set-up in order to identify areas of waste and potential savings. Our print audits are free of charge and are conducted on a no-obligation basis.