Discussion Papers
Managed Print Solution
Printing in Today's Office
Office printing trends show a 10-15% increase in printed pages annually. Increased printing has adversely affected copy volume, with print surpassing copy volume in 1995. As much as 60% of all documents originate at a printer and 70% of all copied documents start out as printed documents.
Recent studies highlighting these significant changes in our document-producing habits also identify the tendency for businesses to turn a blind eye to printer proliferation.
Print vs. Copy
Why are we printing more than copying? We have access to enormous amounts of information, most of which is in electronic form. Our business decisions have become dependent on research. Once we discover relevant information, we instinctively press the print button.
Additionally, many of us have changed old habits and now print multiple originals as needed, instead of first printing an original and then walking to the copy machine. Quality is also a consideration. We like sharing crisp, newly-printed documents instead of those with even the slightest amount of degradation that sometimes results from copying.
Printer Proliferation
The number of printers in our offices, and the print volume being produced on each, has steadily increased "under the radar." Most organizations have purchased and placed printers at will, deploying them in response to employee request or a sense of entitlement. Many are not networked and remain undetected by IT departments.
Understanding today's printing trends is a first step in realizing why we should better manage printer-related costs. It may be surprising for you to learn that most businesses have no idea how much they are spending on these costs.
Managing Print Costs in the Office
Printer-related costs are the single largest under-managed expense in business today. Often lost in under-the-radar printer growth is the under-standing of costs involved in using printers once placed. Print cartridges, maintenance parts, and the occasional service call quickly add up becoming a significant expense for any business.
Related Printing Costs
There are several hidden costs related to managing printers that are not easily identified. Some of these costs include responding to help-desk calls (more than half are printer-related), toner management issues including changing cartridges (up to 23 minutes each time) and the number of printer-related invoices your accounting department is processing. Most businesses do not have a clear understanding of the total costs of printing.
What You May Not Know About Your Print Environment:
- How many printers you own and the pages they produce.
- How much time is spent ordering, stocking, and changing the nearly two dozen types of cartridges needed to keep a typical printer flee tup and running.
- How much time is spent on printer-related help-desk calls.
- How much toner isn't making it to the printed page.
- How a printer's "total cost of ownership" affects your overall operating costs.
- How to place printers based on printer capacity and proximity to employees.
- How to channel the majority of print volume to your most cost-effective printers.
Becoming More "Print-Aware"
Despite the quiet growth of printers and their related expense, many organizations have recently begun to realize the need for greater visibility and management of printer-related expenses. Many have turned to a Managed Print Solution provider for help.
Why Per-Page Cost?
There are unique benefits realized from a per-page invoicing model:
- Establishes Known Cost: For the first time, you can know exactly what it costs to print. Budgets can be formed and expenses managed.
- Alleviates Concern Regarding Unused Toner: You no longer pay for toner that goes unused due to early cartridge failure, early end-user exchanges, obsolescence, forgotten stockpiles or shrinkage. Because an outside provider is responsible to control costs, unused toner is no longer a concern.
- Provides Critical Printer Fleet Data: When combined with print volume, per-page costs support printer placement decisions and strategic hardware purchases to lower overall printing expenses.
A Trusted Consultant: The experienced provider of a Managed Print Solution becomes a trusted consultant who provides valuable decision-making information based on examination of your print fleet as a whole. Because your Managed Print Solution provider is in a unique position to understand your printing needs, they play a key role in lowering printer-related costs for your company.
Summary
Businesses benefit from a close examination of their print-related costs by engaging an experienced Managed Print Solution provider. In summary, the benefits of a Managed Print Solution include:
Cost Savings:
Typical cost savings are 10 - 30%, stemming from several areas, including:
- Establishing a fixed per-page cost.
- Spending less time managing supplies, fielding help-desk calls, and paying print-related invoices.
- Making strategic printer purchase decisions based on total cost of ownership.
- Achieving optimized printer placement relative to print volume within the office.
Less Office Staff Involvement: Time traditionally spent managing printer supplies, responding to printer problems and processing printer-related invoices is freed up for higher priority projects. The greatest time savings is typically experienced by overworked IT staff.