14 Ways Managed Print Services Can Cut Costs
Managed print services have been saving companies printing costs for some time now. While consolidating office-wide printing under a single managed service allows companies to economize on their print costs. This also offers additional benefits such as added data security and disaster recovery. Managed print services provides the means to centralize control of document creation and storage, providing active management of document output, and optimizing documents for business processes. Print management encompasses various areas including software to manage print volume and user authentication, device management, discovery and design, and scanning/scan routing. In fact, much of the savings from managed print services comes from converting paper documents into digital files for easy distribution and archiving. The typical office worker spends, on average, over $1,000 on office printing each year. When you multiply that by the number of employees in a company it adds up fast. An organization with 500 employees could be spending over $2.5MM during the next 5 years to produce documents. With managed print services, these costs can be cut by 7-35% or more. Resulting in an added bonus of a cut of 60% in carbon emissions associated with office printing. Here are 14 ways Managed Print Services can help with cutting print costs:
1. Reduction in wasted paper.
A study by ThinkBeforePrinting.org shows that 50% of office paperwork generated is never actually read. Using managed print services immediately eliminates a lot of paper waste, by encouraging employees to only print when necessary. It also promotes the use of two-sided printouts, generates less waste, and makes more efficient use of paper.
2. Fewer printers.
Rather than having to maintain different printers for each department, centralizing print services in one location requires fewer printers to support the entire organization. Resulting in lower operating and maintenance costs.
3. Fewer supplies required.
If there are fewer printers, then there are fewer supply needs. Hence, substantial savings on ink, toner, and other consumables.
4. Savings in employee time.
It’s amazing how much time workers spend printing documents, fetching documents, loading paper, clearing a paper jam, or circulating documents once they are printed. Consequently, eliminating these issues by taking responsibility for printing out of the hands of employees.
5. Savings in IT time.
IT managers earn an average of more than $120,000 per year according to US News and World Report. Their time is precious, and too much of the average IT professional’s time is spent troubleshooting printing problems. Therefore, eliminating time wasted servicing network printers.
6. Better equipment maintenance.
Outsourcing your printing services means the equipment receives regular maintenance. Plus, maintenance is no longer the IT department’s problem.
7. Better equipment.
Using a print service provider also means equipment is updated regularly, so documents are always produced using the latest printers, scanners, and fax servers. Resulting in substantial savings from replacing aging hardware.
8. Departmental charge backs.
Whether you are paying for print services by the page or as a flat rate contract, it’s easier to track printer usage when it’s centrally managed. Hence, making it easier to allocate costs to the appropriate department, or even charge printing services back to clients.
9. Document distribution.
Paper documents can be digitized and distributed by email, or stored for ready access on a secure server.
10. Better workflow management.
Centralizing paper management makes it easier to establish more efficient workflows. Routing of documents that require approval, or have to be processed in a specific manner can be controlled from one central location so staff members have to adhere to established protocols.
11. Better security.
Sensitive paper documents can now be archived in a secure location without having to commit additional resources. As part of managed print services, access control can be through password authentication, and documents can be protected by encryption and other means. This means paperwork will be more secure once it is converted to digital form.
12. Backup and disaster recovery.
Digitizing essential business paperwork means you automatically have a digital archive in a secure location. Usually stored off-site, or in the cloud. Therefore, you already have backups of paper documents in electronic form in the event of a disaster.
13. Never lose a file.
As many as 7% of business documents are lost and 3% are misfiled, which means an inordinate amount of worker time is spent looking for misplaced paperwork. Utilizing centralized print services, all the documents are meta tagged and cataloged to make it easy to search for the documents you need.
14. Savings in recycling costs.
Managed print services is environmentally friendly, eliminating paper waste, and the cost of recycling. It also saves energy that would be consumed by multiple office printers and scanners, and it saves outdated office printers from taking up landfill. Outsourcing print services is one strategy that more companies are adopting specifically to reduce their carbon footprint. These are just a few of the way’s offices are cutting costs using managed print services. The best way to determine how much they will save is to conduct an assessment. Assess your company’s current printing infrastructure and identify areas where you can save by outsourcing or centralizing printing. The results of the audit will surprise you. To start the process, visit www.doveprintsolutions.com and see where Dove can help you on your journey.
Managed print services have been saving companies printing costs for some time now. While consolidating office-wide printing under a single managed service allows companies to economize on their print costs. This also offers additional benefits such as added data security and disaster recovery. Managed print services provides the means to centralize control of document creation and storage, providing active management of document output, and optimizing documents for business processes. Print management encompasses various areas including software to manage print volume and user authentication, device management, discovery and design, and scanning/scan routing. In fact, much of the savings from managed print services comes from converting paper documents into digital files for easy distribution and archiving. The typical office worker spends, on average, over $1,000 on office printing each year. When you multiply that by the number of employees in a company it adds up fast. An organization with 500 employees could be spending over $2.5MM during the next 5 years to produce documents. With managed print services, these costs can be cut by 7-35% or more. Resulting in an added bonus of a cut of 60% in carbon emissions associated with office printing. Here are 14 ways Managed Print Services can help with cutting print costs:
1. Reduction in wasted paper.
A study by ThinkBeforePrinting.org shows that 50% of office paperwork generated is never actually read. Using managed print services immediately eliminates a lot of paper waste, by encouraging employees to only print when necessary. It also promotes the use of two-sided printouts, generates less waste, and makes more efficient use of paper.
2. Fewer printers.
Rather than having to maintain different printers for each department, centralizing print services in one location requires fewer printers to support the entire organization. Resulting in lower operating and maintenance costs.
3. Fewer supplies required.
If there are fewer printers, then there are fewer supply needs. Hence, substantial savings on ink, toner, and other consumables.
4. Savings in employee time.
It’s amazing how much time workers spend printing documents, fetching documents, loading paper, clearing a paper jam, or circulating documents once they are printed. Consequently, eliminating these issues by taking responsibility for printing out of the hands of employees.
5. Savings in IT time.
IT managers earn an average of more than $120,000 per year according to US News and World Report. Their time is precious, and too much of the average IT professional’s time is spent troubleshooting printing problems. Therefore, eliminating time wasted servicing network printers.
6. Better equipment maintenance.
Outsourcing your printing services means the equipment receives regular maintenance. Plus, maintenance is no longer the IT department’s problem.
7. Better equipment.
Using a print service provider also means equipment is updated regularly, so documents are always produced using the latest printers, scanners, and fax servers. Resulting in substantial savings from replacing aging hardware.
8. Departmental charge backs.
Whether you are paying for print services by the page or as a flat rate contract, it’s easier to track printer usage when it’s centrally managed. Hence, making it easier to allocate costs to the appropriate department, or even charge printing services back to clients.
9. Document distribution.
Paper documents can be digitized and distributed by email, or stored for ready access on a secure server.
10. Better workflow management.
Centralizing paper management makes it easier to establish more efficient workflows. Routing of documents that require approval, or have to be processed in a specific manner can be controlled from one central location so staff members have to adhere to established protocols.
11. Better security.
Sensitive paper documents can now be archived in a secure location without having to commit additional resources. As part of managed print services, access control can be through password authentication, and documents can be protected by encryption and other means. This means paperwork will be more secure once it is converted to digital form.
12. Backup and disaster recovery.
Digitizing essential business paperwork means you automatically have a digital archive in a secure location. Usually stored off-site, or in the cloud. Therefore, you already have backups of paper documents in electronic form in the event of a disaster.
13. Never lose a file.
As many as 7% of business documents are lost and 3% are misfiled, which means an inordinate amount of worker time is spent looking for misplaced paperwork. Utilizing centralized print services, all the documents are meta tagged and cataloged to make it easy to search for the documents you need.
14. Savings in recycling costs.
Managed print services is environmentally friendly, eliminating paper waste, and the cost of recycling. It also saves energy that would be consumed by multiple office printers and scanners, and it saves outdated office printers from taking up landfill. Outsourcing print services is one strategy that more companies are adopting specifically to reduce their carbon footprint. These are just a few of the way’s offices are cutting costs using managed print services. The best way to determine how much they will save is to conduct an assessment. Assess your company’s current printing infrastructure and identify areas where you can save by outsourcing or centralizing printing. The results of the audit will surprise you. To start the process, visit www.doveprintsolutions.com and see where Dove can help you on your journey.
