Using Managed Print Solutions Can Help Businesses to Keep Control of Print Costs

A combination of rising commodity prices for paper and minerals, increased VAT from the start of 2011, and now the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, are all pressures that can make it harder for businesses trying to control costs in the aftermath of the 2008 recession.

Businesses therefore need to find ways to control the costs of their printing and copying activities.

Some steps they can take are straightforward. One is to make sure staff only print documents when really necessary, and to do so in black and white, rather than colour wherever possible. Businesses can authorise only a few key people to be able to print in colour and most printer/copiers have a facility for assigning a code that has to be used by staff who need to use colour.

Shopping around for better deals on ink, toner and paper is another obvious step, as well as ensuring that paper is not wasted and that waste is recycled.

It has been calculated that print needs account for up to 3% of companies' total revenue and up to 30% of that can be saved by using printer/copiers more efficiently as well as taking the steps outlined above.

Many suppliers of printer/copiers also now offer what is called a managed print solution where the business moves away from in-house print to having it all managed by the supplier.

This is achieved by a combination of ensuring the company is supplied with the most up-to-date and efficient printers. However, it usually starts with the company's needs being properly assessed department by department.

A proper assessment will also look at the company's current process for ordering supplies as well as the costs of supplies and the energy use of existing equipment.

It will then supply an analysis and report with suggestions for better managing all these elements and suggestions for the right equipment that will do the job.

This may include providing software that can cover everything from accounting solutions to authentication solutions that ensure document security as well as management solutions to effective organisation, management and sharing of documents.

Suppliers may also be able to source cheaper deals for toner, ink, and paper by using their buying power to buy in bulk and they offer service contracts to ensure regular inspection and maintenance of the equipment they have supplied to make sure it is all working at peak efficiency and therefore using no more energy than is needed.

Plainly each company's needs are individual and service and supply contracts will need to be looked at carefully to ensure they are delivering what the company wants without any hidden and perhaps onerous cancellation and other charges.

If this has been done properly, however, a business can be confident that it has done everything it could possibly do to keep its printing costs efficient and under control.

Copyright (c) 2011 Alison Withers

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