In today’s cost conscious world, the office print environment is a frequently overlooked area of business that can be quietly costing you money. Undergoing a print assessment can offer immediate insight into your company’s actual print behaviours including volumes and cost.
Technology today offers software solutions that make the process easy to monitor and capture data over a period of time, which can then be used to prepare a fact-based report. These findings will give you a snapshot of your current print environment and help to identify possible opportunities for significant savings, increasing productivity and reducing waste in your business.
A quality print assessment can provide the following information:
- Inventory of devices – A complete inventory of all on and offline print devices in your office
- Usage by device – A breakdown of colour and black and white output by device
- Actual costs – Broken down by device and overall
- User activities – By department and end user
- Energy consumption – A good assessment will look at energy consumption of all hardcopy devices
- Recycling practices – Used cartridge disposal and recycling policies
These findings will give you a basis to make educated decisions on long and short-term opportunities for cutting costs.
There are three common types of print assessments, they are:
- Walk around – This is the simplest form of assessment. For small and medium sized businesses, a walk around gives a full inventory of devices; printing a configuration sheet at the beginning and end of the workday will give a snapshot of daily print volumes. These volumes can then be projected out over a week, month or year.
- Software deployment – Using software over a longer time frame can give a more accurate insight into your company’s actual print volume and costs as well as your print workflow.
- Onsite Service – For larger companies or multiple locations, a more in-depth process may be necessary. Onsite assessment allows for greater collection and analysis of data.
Print assessments vary in scope and size based on the needs of the company being assessed. Most companies, large and small, can realize immediate opportunities for cost savings. It’s a smart business decision!
