Managed printing could save you 40%
Businesses today still rely on hard copies and electronic devices as a primary means of communication. Nonetheless, most companies are under pressure to reduce running costs.
There are many preventable costs associated with printing that organisations only realise through managed printing services. Studies carried out by All Associates Inc suggest that only 20% of the print costs are visible costs.
Some of the benefits of switching to managed printing include:
- Flexible plans tailored to meet your business needs
Managed printing is flexible so it can provide the most effective service for each business. Before any recommendations would be made, the current infrastructure of a business would be assessed. This determines exactly what equipment is being used and what this currently costs the business.
Research from tech analyst firm Gartner suggests organisations spend between 1-3% of their annual revenues on printing. “But when you talk about how much they spend on print, they often don’t have a clue,” says Chris Iburg, director of managed printer services for Xerox. “That includes how many devices they have and how they are being used.”
After introducing a managed printing service, businesses with a higher document intensively will witness the greatest savings e.g. law and financial firms or healthcare organisations. According to Infotrends, such businesses can see a saving between 41-27% on their printing costs.
By providing a personalised service, the data collected during the initial assessment makes it possible to remove unnecessary equipment. An MPS can also offer continuous monitoring of print volumes to ensure ink and toner levels are maintained.
Our printing service, infinity–for–business is available through a fixed monthly fee that covers any breakdowns and maintenance of equipment, as well as any new equipment acquired and ongoing consumables required.
Bruce Dahlgren, senior vice president for managed enterprise solutions at HP’s Imaging and Printing Group, estimates that the average Fortune 1000 company can save up to 700 metric tons of paper annually and reduce energy costs by up to 40%.
Such reductions have a positive effect on the environment and can play a major role in any corporate sustainability strategy. Statistics reveal that it requires 10 litres of water to produce just 1 sheet of paper and still 50% of a businesses waste is comprised of paper. Even small changes will have a significant effect on a company’s carbon footprint and enhance their reputation to customers and partners.
- Prediction of printing costs
By monitoring a business’s ongoing printing requirements, an accurate prediction of printing costs can be made. As a result, there would be no sudden expenses to take from an organisations capital budget e.g. when an old printing device breaks and needs to be replaced.
Companies using a MPS are no longer required to keep an inventory of consumables as a constant supply for printing devices. As the saying goes, “time is money”. Industry estimates suggest that for every $1 spent on printing (ink, toner and other supplies), companies spend another $9 on management of the printing environment.
Our MPS helps to free up time for IT staff to make the best use of their time e.g. driving strategic initiatives rather than managing printers. Numerous improvements can also be seen within care sector organisations and the accounts payable departments of any business.
- Increased efficiency through hardware consolidation
An essential step at the beginning of any print management service is to ensure the printing environment is the correct size for usage. According to research, the majority of companies have more printing devices than necessary.
Our MPS will monitor the usage of every device and after analysis by a printing technology expert will enable us to implement a more practical device per employee ratio. The result is a reduction in expenditure on consumables, as well as in electricity bills.
In addition, we can also reduce expenditure by introducing more efficient hardware options, such as multifunction printers (MFPs), which combine a printer, scanner, copier and fax machine within one single device. The cost of such machines is steadily declining in price and is not so expensive when you consider each device can serve many employees.
There is evidence to confirm the use of tablets in the work place has helped to reduce printing costs. Factors including mobility, screen resolution, size and collaboration ease of tablets have contributed to decrease the demand for printing services.
A growing number of organisations are realising the benefits of having a MPS. Data from InfoTrends suggests an 11% increase in Managed Printer Services in recent years.
For more information on how we can support your business’s printing needs please contact us on: 03330 065 591