What can drive up the cost of your printing?

I don’t care how much it costs I just want it to work right whatever the damage is just do it!”. These aren’t the words you would hear out of a CEO or CFO’s mouth. They work to try to cut or minimize costs. What if you could save money on your printing and still have every device operating smoothly?

As the world of printing evolves, it’s essential to ensure you choose devices that do what you need, allow room for growth, and get the job done quickly. Here are some tips on how to do so!

Finding the Correct Model

With the number of options on the market, it can be hard to know which model is perfect for you. You may need a model that has every application for the tasks you carry out or you may find that a smaller model suits your environment better. The most efficient way to determine what model suits your personal requirements is to do a print assessment.

It’s essential to be aware of your business's average amount of prints and speed requirements. How many prints daily are necessary? Is your printer printing at the necessary speed? You may find a faster printer to be preferred but did you know copier price increases as speed increases? So, think to yourself, is a faster printer really necessary?

Think about how many of your employees may be using the copier and consider the type of projects that your office prints daily. This will aid your decision on your chosen copier and required applications. By assessing your organization's needs you may be able to review the advantages and prices for add-ons before making your final decision.

Color Printing or Black & White Only?

Usually, color prints can cost up to three times more than monochrome prints. Color toner is also more expensive than black.

If you decide on color, here are a couple easy steps that can be taken to ensure low costs:

o ensure your printer is set automatically to black and white.

o Assess whether color is necessary for the document you are printing. When a document has a small addition of color, the whole document is found to be a color copy. It is your personal choice if you would spend the additional cost.

o Apply a print management software. The correct software allows you to take control over certain things like color printing. By placing settings to give access to those who need color to print you can cut back on unneeded color prints by others which in turn reduces the overall cost.

Paper Waste

On average, an employee may use over 10,000 sheets of paper per year. Research shows an estimate that between 17-45% of those sheets are thrown out by the end of each workday. The simplest option to reduce paper waste in half is to set the default to printing on both sides of the paper on your copier. Using the “fit to size” option also aids to reduce paper costs.

Another useful application is the print management software stated previously. This software allows you to assign each employee or department a unique code for printing. This way at the end of each month you can see whether you need to add restrictions on your employees' printing.

Service Frequency

Will issues arise in your business if your printer runs down? One of the biggest decisions when buying a copier is how often it will be used.

Unexpected problems are certain to occur. It’s important that you link with a service that will make sure your equipment is working. Partnering with a reliable company can ensure you won't need to pay for unnecessary problems.

Usually, toner and waste toner are included in the agreement. This can save you money as you may order expensive but low-quality toner online. Providers will send you toner when it's low and help you fix minor problems when they occur. This prevents any major issues for preventing work from being done.

A notable way to ensure low costs and to reliably budget for service and supplies, while not worrying about charges from overprinting is to leverage a monthly contract, for example PWW’s TPM (Total Print Management) Plan.

The PWW’s TPM (Total Print Management) Plan includes:

1. No overage charges; print and copy without worrying about “going over” your limit
2. All toner, service and maintenance included in one easy to budget for payment
3. No meter reads
4. Steady price for the full duration of your contract.
5. One monthly Invoice for everything
6. One payment with no reporting, reconciliation or hidden costs

Energy

We never think about the importance of the energy required to run copiers and printers, especially if you’re part of a major organization. When choosing a new machine, take into consideration makes and models that are energy efficient. Canon, for example, qualifies its products to ENERGY STAR requirements. Over time, these energy-saving benefits can really save you money.

Security Risks

Securing network printers is crucial because the repercussions of a security breach can be shocking. Copiers and printers can be forgotten about when thinking about cybersecurity measures. Hackers can use these access points to cause viruses.

Security breaches aren’t limited to networks. Around 55% of company data breaches are hard copy based. Is your confidential information being left out for anyone to take? By implementing follow-me-print software it can help prevent information from getting leaked. Intellectual property theft and other information leaks can cost a company their reputation and cause a loss of business.

So, what drives up the cost of printing? It's not just the initial price of the printer but is the future expenses of your printer. By taking the recommendations above into consideration you may not only be an informed consumer but you are saving yourself and your company unnecessary costs for the future!

Keeping your printing costs on budget can be easy! Finding your organization’s needs with a printer assessment, choosing color prints when necessary, reducing wasted prints, and being on a comprehensive print program are all imperative steps to take in your printing plan.

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