10 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Unmanaged Printers in Your Business
Unmanaged printers can lead to excessive spending on paper, ink, maintenance, and energy. However, by implementing the right methods, businesses can alter their printing processes.
Here are ten ways to reduce the cost of unmanaged printers in your business.
Conduct a Print Audit
The first step to reducing costs is understanding how much your business is spending on printing. A print audit helps track usage. It will identify inefficiencies while also detecting wasteful printing habits.
Furthermore, a print audit gathers data on print volumes, paper consumption, and ink or toner usage.
Implement Print Policies
Employees print responsibly when you create clear printing policies. Set rules such as printing in black and white by default. You can also encourage them to use duplex (double-sided) printing or color printing for necessary documents.
Educating employees on cost-saving printing methods can cut down unnecessary expenses.
Use Managed Print Services (MPS)
A Managed Print Services (MPS) provider can help you manage printer usage. It will also reduce waste structuring the whole printer maintenance process.
MPS services monitor printer activity.
They also automated supply replenishment. They do all this so that your printing devices are running without any breakdowns.
Opt for Energy-Saving Printers
Modern energy-saving printers consume less power, reducing electricity costs. We suggest looking for printers with Energy Star certification.
Printing devices with this certification means that the machine follows all the energy saving guidelines. Additionally, setting printers to go into sleep mode when idle can also reduce energy consumption.
Consolidate Printing Devices
Instead of maintaining multiple standalone printers, consider consolidating devices by using multifunction printers (MFPs). These multifunction printers handle everything from handle printing, scanning, copying to faxing.
MFPs not only reduce maintenance costs but also simplify the whole supply management.
MPS Company, part of the Gulf Commercial Group, is a leading provider of office technology solutions. This affiliation allows us to take a unique, specialized approach, benefiting from the group’s extensive expertise.
Use High-Yield Ink and Toner Cartridges
Here’s another method to reduce the cost of unmanaged printers.
Standard ink and toner cartridges run out quickly. That’s why they require frequent replacements. High-yield cartridges last longer, reducing the frequency of replacements.
This ultimately lowers the overall printing costs. Here’s another thing you need to remember. Although they have a higher upfront cost, they provide better long-term savings.
Get Print Tracking and User Authentication
Enforcing user authentication is a great feature for printing. It makes employees accountable for their print usage. Similarly, print tracking tools can provide detailed reports on print behavior.
With this businesses can identify areas where they can reduce the costs. Lastly, by implementing secure print release functions, you can also prevent unnecessary print jobs.
Encourage Digital Document Management
Shifting to digital workflows reduces the need for excessive printing. It encourages employees to use electronic document management systems like cloud storage.
Technology like cloud storage also eliminates reliance on paper. So, overall sending digital invoices, contracts, and reports instead of printed copies cuts costs.
Schedule Preventive Maintenance
Regular printer maintenance helps prevent costly breakdowns. It also extends the lifespan of unmanaged printers.
Simple tasks such as cleaning printheads, checking for paper jams, and updating firmware can keep printers running smoothly.
Optimize Print Settings
Adjusting print settings can lead to huge cost savings. We recommend setting default settings to draft mode for internal documents, which uses less ink.
Lower print resolution where high-quality prints are unnecessary. Lastly, encourage employees using grayscale instead of color whenever possible.
FAQs
Unmanaged printers often incur hidden expenses such as excessive energy consumption, unmonitored usage leading to waste, increased maintenance costs, and potential security vulnerabilities.
Establishing print policies, like defaulting to double-sided printing and restricting color usage, can significantly decrease paper and toner consumption, leading to cost savings.
Regular maintenance ensures printers operate efficiently, preventing costly breakdowns and extending the lifespan of the equipment, thereby reducing long-term expenses.
Yes, reducing the number of underutilized printers and centralizing printing to high-efficiency devices can lower energy consumption and maintenance costs.
Implementing print management software allows businesses to track usage patterns, identify wasteful practices, and allocate costs accurately, facilitating informed decisions to reduce expenses.
Investing in energy-efficient printers can lead to substantial savings on electricity bills and contribute to environmental sustainability.
Unmanaged printing can lead to security risks, such as unauthorized access to sensitive documents, potentially resulting in data breaches and associated costs.
Conclusion
That’s a wrap for ‘10 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Unmanaged Printers in Your Business’
Unmanaged printers can quickly become a costly burden for businesses. However, by implementing these ten cost-saving measures, companies can reduce expenses. They’ll be able to improve productivity, and adopt more sustainable printing practices.