6 Ways to bring down your printing costs

In the time of digital solutions, AI, and the cloud, it's surprising how dependent we still are on paper, especially in office environments. Did you know that on average, one administrative employee prints about thirty-four pages per day? When you multiply that by every member of a department, the numbers can quickly escalate, especially if there’s the ability to print without restriction. 

We've seen firsthand how unmanaged print environments can burden companies with unnecessary expenses. Most companies we help didn’t actively manage their print strategy before partnering with us and they were missing out on potential savings. Luckily, taking a few intentional steps can cut back on unnecessary spending and can also help keep your printing workflow running smoothly at the same time.

Let’s explore several strategies to keep your printing costs in check and make your office more efficient.

1. Monitor Printer Usage

Starting with a system to watch over your organization's printing habits is key. When you monitor printer usage, you can see what’s being printed, which printers are heavily used, and how much is being printed on average. Knowing these details can highlight the unnecessary printing happening around the office and also help you see redundant or unnecessary devices. 

Making changes based on what you discover can lead to some quick wins such as saving paper and toner, reducing wear and tear on your machines, and reducing waste. Aside from reduced costs from these benefits, his system will also continue to bring value through improved visibility on printing habits and accuracy in print budgeting. 

2. Enact an Office Printing Policy

Think about introducing a straightforward set of guidelines around how everyone uses printers at work. This isn't about watching over every document someone prints, but rather about laying down some easy-to-follow rules that help cut down on wasted paper and promote the use of digital documents whenever that's an option. This kind of approach isn't new, but it is sometimes surprising how many organizations focus on this area. 

You could include instructions for printing workflows to ensure things are done efficiently, designate specific printers for high-volume jobs or special tasks, and encourage the office to make smart choices like deciding when a print job really needs to be in color. With a printing policy in place, you’ll find that not only does paper use go down, but people will also start thinking more consciously about how they print, which is great for reducing waste and saving resources.

Keep in mind that not all environments benefit from a print quota or strict limitations. This will vary depending on the needs of your business.

3. Adjust Printer Defaults

Did you know that printing in color can cost up to eight times more than in black and white? A lot of office printers are automatically set to print in color, but that's not always needed and can make printing more expensive. It can make even more of an impact for smaller printers which can be exponentially more expensive to operate. Changing printers’ default settings to black and white can be a simple way to save a lot of money on costs for printing.

It's also a good idea to teach your team to double-check their print settings before they print. Make it part of your office printing rules to think about whether color is necessary for each job. With print management software, you can limit printing to only black and white, or even alert users to the cost of the job they are about to run and suggest alternatives right on the MFP screen. 

To back up your efforts, ensure the printers in your fleet are the best fit for your team and easily integrate with your document management software.

4. Align Printing Needs with Printer Choice

Guide your team towards choosing the most budget-friendly printers that still do everything you need. Larger, advanced printers that can handle a lot of printing and which can be shared by groups of users usually are cheaper to run in the long term compared to smaller, personal printers. Even though those small printers might seem convenient, they actually cost more to keep up and run.

By encouraging everyone to use more efficient printers for their big jobs, you're not just saving money on the day-to-day costs but also making sure you're getting the most out of your office equipment. 

You can also look for bundles offered by your technology partners. For example, UBEO offers bundle volume and service pricing to ensure print costs are predictable each month. This eliminates the concern over which devices are more or less expensive to run. 

5. Standardize Your Printing Fleet

Having too many different kinds of printers around can make things more expensive, not just in terms of buying ink and other supplies, but also when it comes to maintenance. 

If you stick to just one or two types of printers across your office by standardizing your printer fleet, it gets a lot easier to manage everything. You won't have to keep track of a bunch of different ink cartridges or figure out how to fix multiple models. It also significantly reduces the number of different devices you’ll need to know how to troubleshoot day-to-day, simplifying the process of resolving minor issues. 

You’ll find savings not only in saved supplies costs, but also in reduced onboarding time, freed up IT time, and less unexpected downtime. 

6. Encourage Sharing Documents Digitally

One of the best strategies to manage printing expenses is by reducing the amount of printing you do in the first place. Shifting towards a digital document setup cuts down paper use and makes it easier to share information, which is especially handy for teams with members working remotely. Just be sure to implement and maintain a strong organizational system for these digital files to fully leverage the benefits.

This move to digital can dramatically reduce costs while enhancing accessibility and efficiency across your team. As long as your digital documents are well-organized, finding and using them becomes a breeze, helping everyone stay on the same page no matter where they're working from.

Don’t let your printing costs get out of hand

It’s vital to periodically reassess your printing strategies to ensure they remain effective. UBEO specializes in assessing and optimizing printing operations as part of broader business process improvements. By integrating the right people, processes, and technologies, we help streamline your printing needs and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Remember, effective printer management goes beyond mere cost savings; it involves making strategic decisions that align with long-term business goals and environmental responsibilities. Take control of your printing costs now and set your business up for streamlined success.