How to Cut Printing and Copying Costs For a Business

Although many had believed the digital age would bring a dramatic decrease in the usage of paper as a medium, it is evident that this is not yet the case. The average company still prints around a hundred documents a day, which proves that paper is still irreplaceable in the business world. However, computers did bring us an unwelcomed change – increasing complexity in managing and controlling a company’s paper output.

Printing and copying costs can add up to three percent of a business’ overhead. Unplanned managing of printing resources can also prove to be time-consuming. The costs of printing and copying can be hard to track in a system that is not centralized, and poor management of paper output in general has a negative effect on the environment on many levels. Of course, there are ways you can cut the printing and copying costs of your business.

Where to start?

Do you know exactly how many printing devices your organization has? Do you know who uses these devices and how? Is the staff adequately skilled in using them? Identifying the problems is the first step in creating and implementing a successful print management strategy.

Research shows that a surprisingly big number of companies disregard or are unaware of the hidden costs associated to paper output, which amount to nine times more than what is spent on supplies, equipment and the devices themselves.

Managed Print Services

Managed Print Services (MPS) offer a way of outsourcing the management of your company’s printing and copying resources. Most MPS providers offer a wide array of services, from simply identifying the problems in your paper-output management and creating a strategy for overcoming them, to the provision of equipment, supplies, maintenance and overall management of everything related to printing and copying in your business.

This solution may seem like a costly one, especially considering that the first thing most MPS providers will recommend is a standardization of your equipment. However, one look at a long-term analysis of the benefits this investment will bring should be quite enough to assure you that you are making a right choice.

Environmental Benefits

The most obvious environmental benefit of a good paper-output management is a dramatic reduction in paper waste. Most companies without a valid print management strategy throw away much more of it that they realize. Considering that paper is made from a very limited resource, this is something nobody should be taking lightly.

Among many other environmental benefits, efficient management of paper output of your company can amount to energy savings of thirty to even eighty percent in some cases. It will also have a big effect on the lifespan of the devices, many of which are mostly unrecyclable or their recycling simply does not pay off. The same goes for supplies and consumables used in printing and copying.

Implementing a sound strategy for management of the paper output will no doubt have a beneficial effect on any company’s finances.

Besides the financial gain, you can expect an increase in employee’s productivity and overall improvement in every level of your business where handling paper is unavoidable. Your business will also become greener, so to speak, which certainly doesn’t hurt anybody, least of all the environment.

Mark has successfully helped cut overhead costs of his business by using managed print services which he reccomends to all companies that have a lot of paperwork.