Get Your Colour Print Costs Under Control

A common problem in many offices is a lack of print controls. This essentially means that anyone with access to a mouse can make a buying decision by printing in colour rather than black and white. Colour prints can be  expensive, ranging in price from 10 to 80 cents per print depending on the output device.

Let’s look at four steps that can get your print environment under control, and save you money in the process:

• Implement a Formal Print Policy –

This is a simple list of rules to be followed by every employee in your office. For example, always print double-sided documents, and print colour documents on lower cost-per-page devices. Statistics have shown that the mere mention of a print monitoring policy can reduce colour printing by as much as 10 percent!

• Reset Printer Driver Default Settings –

It only takes a second and can offer up significant savings. For example, defaulting printers to make double-sided prints can cut your paper use in half! Setting the defaults to print black and white can significantly reduce toner costs. There are often advanced settings you can adjust for printing PDFs, email and PowerPoint that will reduce your colour print costs significantly.

• Implement a Managed Print Program –

Unlike a print policy, a Managed Print program uses technology to put restrictions in place based on the device and the user. This step can reduce your print costs 10 to 30 percent!  Most programs include a recycling component that will help reduce waste in your office. By restricting colour print on an “as needed” basis and restricting access to certain employees for example, you’ll save money and increase your businesses sustainability in the process.

• Use only Monochrome or Black and White Devices –

Most departments and users don’t need colour printing. Restrict colour to one device and have strong user controls. By making the bulk of your devices black and white, you’ll save money on toner and use less supplies.

Taking these four simple steps is a smart business decision that can help reduce waste, make your business more sustainable, lower your print and consumables expenses, get your print environment under control and save you money.

For more information on how you can get a handle on your printing costs, we invite you to download our 5-step guide below: