Regardless of whether it’s a presentation, proofreading, or administration, companies rely on paper for their day to day functioning. Consequently, the presence of an unreliable, costly, inefficient and poor quality printer can spell doom for a company.
According to a study conducted by Longhaus, Australia’s print on demand culture is costing small to large businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars per annum.
Anybody who has ever worked in an office is likely to have had an altercation with a printer at some point in their career. The working week can be hard enough without paper jams, printing errors and empty toner interrupting your day.
For those of us who have found ourselves yelling obscenities at a malfunctioning printer, here are some tools and tips required for a harmonious working relationship with your printer:
1. Do the maths
Riddle me this; how much is your printer costing your business per month? The initial purchase of a printer or MFP is painful enough. One trap the majority of business owners fall into is not calculating the ongoing costs of consumables and maintenance. Your business could be missing out on opportunities to cut your costs by 35 percent simply because you aren’t aware of your real printing expenses.
Accounting for total cost ownership (TCO) of not only your printer but all your devices will save your business serious dollars.
2. Research
The costs of running a printer far outweigh the initial purchase price. When investing in a printer for your business, no matter the make (desktop or top of the line multi functional printer, MFP), it is essential you do your research.
It has been proven the Australian market spends approximately 9 percent of its information communication technology (ICT) budget on acquiring print devices and spends a further 6 percent on ongoing operational costs for a typical print fleet. This means 15 percent of the ICT budget places printing devices on par with telecommunication expenses as a lone, identifiable expense.
3. Manage your print services
Implementing strategies to reduce these expenses starts with consolidating your printing fleet. Improve the overall efficiency of your devices by adopting tactics such as print quotas, time-based printer availability, print routing and PIN-based job collection.
Manage your printer usage by contacting an external outlet, like Kyocera to help your business measure your print consumption enabling you to have an accurate understanding of your costs.
4. Security
It is usually disregarded as a security threat, yet monitoring and policing the use of print devices is critical. Your businesses confidential documents are always printed and can be a lucrative temptation for dishonest people. Implementing security software into your devices will protect you from unauthorised users gaining access to confidential information.
5. The Environment
Businesses today are held accountable for technologies they use and the environmental impact it has on our ecosystem. With the introduction of the Carbon Tax, it is admitted Australian businesses will experience direct or unforseen effects of the carbon pollution reduction scheme. The Government says small business will play a vital role in building Australia’s green energy future and expects all to transition to low pollution technologies.
Consider and measure what impression your devices are having on the environment and combat rising costs by using technologies imbedded with environmentally friendly systems.
Kyocera has been implementing green policies for over 30 years and encourages the recycling and development of products and technologies that will reduce impact on the environment.