Did you know that between 37 and 41 percent of printer related expenses tend to avoid formal procurement approval? In addition, 90 percent of businesses are unaware of their office printing expenditures. These stats coupled with an evolving workforce and security concerns are evidence as to why having a clear understanding of how your organization prints and crafting a plan is so important. How employees in an organization print, is conducive to the overall communication environment within the office

Below are ways organizations can spot inefficiencies and increase transparency in their printing protocols to achieve greater office communication.

Accessibility
With more flexible working arrangements and the rise of remote-workers, the ability for employees to access and print documents on-the-go is vital to efficient workflows. One tool we currently deploy for customers is follow-me-printing. This solution allows user access to multiple devices across multiple locations the ability to print on-demand based on their own personal queue. By accessing a device with a pin code or badge, users provide an audit trail of equipment usage and have convenient access to information they need. IT departments are also able to regulate the amount of time the documents are held within the queue before being purged from the server.

Security
Your customer data and proprietary information must be safeguarded. It is what makes your company unique and operate smoothly. Everyone in an organization doesn’t have access to all information; with this logic, we shouldn’t find confidential documents lying around accessible to anyone using the copier. This is found to be a common occurrence across many types of organizations. At Copiers Plus, we help organizations adhere to regulations and best practices in regards to document security such as requiring individual log-in information and private print options that do not release print jobs unless adequate credentials are provided at a device.

Understand the Cost
In the same way organizations can view their phone bill and see who used too many GB of data last cycle, you should be able to look at a report of print volume by user and see if there are any anomalies. Justified printing is not a concern, though unprecedented spikes not backed up by business demand should spark a conversation and investigation. If an employee is printing flyers for their side business, that is something you wouldn’t want to go unnoticed.

Color usage is another area often scrutinized and examined by companies. We offer several solutions, from disabling color for certain users to activating color tier pricing that enables an organization to have cost effective color that is based on the amount of ink on a page. For example, if you just need a logo on the page that would be a low tier cost, but if you needed full color photographs or charts that may be a mid or high tier.
 
Identify Costly Printers
If your organization is using any ink-jet printers, there is a good chance you are spending too much. Ink based printers are meant to serve a small volume and have very high costs per page. The average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. Even if you do a tenth of that, often times the benefit of switching from ink based to toner-based equipment will save you money. One way we are able to help organizations with multiple devices spread across a building is to implement rules-based- printing. This solution automatically routes print jobs to the most economical device based on factors such as color usage and page counts.

There are many ways to bring enhanced print transparency to your workplace. The best part is you don’t have to do it alone. If you have a question or would like help implementing some of the strategies mentioned above, please reach out! In addition, we offer a free print analysis that includes a full report of the cost of your printing and even broken down by user. Schedule your assessment today here, or give us a call us at 800-648-7081.
 
To schedule your complimentary assessment, contact us at 800-648-7081 or visit our website.
 
Drew Smith currently serves as Director of Communications for Copiers Plus. The company specializes in modernizing office equipment and increasing efficiencies in workplace communications throughout the state of North Carolina. To learn more about how Copiers Plus is providing their customers with innovative document solutions and enhanced printing transparency, visit copiers-plus.com. Drew would love to hear from you at [email protected].