Looking for new ideas that can save your business money in no time? Start with your office printers!
Thanks to the rise of technology, the always-evolving digital age, and a few changes in workplace habits, print has become one of the best—and surprisingly easy—ways to cut business costs fast.
Some of these cost-saving tips are simple enough where your employees, management team, or IT department could integrate them in-house. For the more complex strategies, however, we recommend partnering with an expert print management service (MPS) provider.
Though there are many different ways a large, medium or small business can cut costs with print solutions, here are six favorites that we recommend to our customers most often:
1. Digitize Your Documents
Every day, the world is increasingly going digital. The workplace is no exception. Start by taking full advantage of paperless resources like document automation and digital documentation. Both will save money and make formerly paper-heavy processes more efficient.
For example, many companies are still in the habit of providing handouts to their entire staff before an office meeting. But honestly, how many people actually hold onto these pages?
Instead of printing out hundreds—if not thousands—of sheets—create a thorough PowerPoint or PDF presentation and email it to everyone before the meeting. Then, they can follow along by pulling it up on their phones, laptops, or iPads.
After the meeting, if they do decide they’d like a hard copy of the information, they’ll then have the option to do so (preferably in black and white and double-sided to save paper).
This same concept works for smaller training sessions, onboarding packets, HR information, and many other previously paper-driven communications.
2. Make It A Game
Few things can motivate a team like some honest competition.
A mutual mission to save money, like print and paper-use reduction, is a perfect way to get your employees into the saving spirit. It’s also a fantastic way to introduce these new cost-cutting strategies to your team and guide them towards smarter print habits for the long term.
There are plenty of ways to turn cost savings into a game. However, some of our favorites include creating a friendly competition between departments to see who can save the most in print costs over a month.
At the end of each week, fill in a thermometer—or a tree to signify saved paper—to represent how much money was saved. Whichever department wins gets treated to a catered lunch or an ice cream social.
Or, if you prefer company-wide camaraderie, set a goal for the entire organization to reach over several months. If it’s achieved, everyone gets to enjoy a fun reward.
3. Smart Software Solutions
There are several software solutions currently available that were designed to cut down on your office’s print costs. The one we recommend more often is called PaperCut.
Though PaperCut has hundreds of functions, some of the best for cost savings include setting up soft and hard print rules.
With the soft rules, a pop-up reminder will inform end-users about things like how much they’d save by choosing black and white, or recommend that they duplex print a large document rather than print one-sided. Employees won’t be required to go with these suggestions, but they’ll have to stop and think about their decision before proceeding.
By enabling PaperCut’s hard rules, rather than encouraging your employees to make smarter decisions, you require them to abide by specific guidelines.
4. Save By Printing in Black and White, Not Color
Very rarely should color be the default print setting. Instead, choosing to print in color vs. black and white (also called mono printing) should always be an intentional decision. By reducing the amount of color, expect to see your cost savings add up.
That’s because color is much more expensive than mono. This is both in terms of the ink itself and, if you’re using a managed print service, the cost per page. Did you know that printing an email or webpage with just a single hyperlink incurs a color print cost with a managed print service?
Also, start paying closer attention to the times that you do print in color. Is it vital for that handout, worksheet, or announcement? If you notice that most employees quickly toss them, consider switching over to black and white.
5. Optimize Your Print Environment
How your office print environment is set up can drastically affect your print costs. Though you can take some measures into your own hands, this is one area where a print environment assessment from a managed print service can make a significant difference.
One common issue is simply having too many printers at your office. Rarely does each user require a personal printer. Instead, an MPS team can create “print neighborhoods” where fewer printers are strategically dispersed throughout the office.
By requiring employees to get up every time they print, they’ll begin to think twice about how necessary this document is.
6. Print Less
We know it sounds obvious, but it’s critical to remember this if you want to lower your print costs. It only takes a relatively small print decrease to see meaningful returns.
By printing less, the company will also pay less for products like paper and toner and reduce wear-and-tear on the print devices themselves. This means the machine should last longer without needing a repair or replacement.
Curious how much your business can save on print costs by working with an MPS provider? Check our pricing page and get an estimate in minutes!
Ready to start the conversation now with a print management expert, call our team at imageOne! Just schedule a 15-minute, no-pressure call with us today, and we’ll find the perfect cost-saving solution for you!
