SMBE Blog - Archive for July, 2011
Printer costs may be going down but are the costs of printing?
While it is relatively easy for a business to measure what a printer or printers costs the organisation, and the toner and paper costs (consumables) –the Hard costs, the total cost of printing within SME’s is more than these. When thinking printers and associated costs, managers have to now be mindful of the Soft costs involved with building the printing services within a business..
These include, electricity used (a major issue with the escalating price of power), the ongoing effect of wear and tear within the printer, the cost of servicing and or maintaining the printer and the costs associated with loss of productivity, downtime and even degrading morale when a printer is temporarily out of action.
For many businesses, the costs associated with printing can take them by surprise. Even with the apparently low costs of small personal colour printing machines (Inkjet and Laser), the cost per sheet can be higher than anticipated when you add the cost of replacing toner cartridges frequently and/or replacing the cheap machines when they wear out.
Businesses with larger multipurpose machines servicing a number of users get a lower cost per sheet price but the wear and tear and maintenance on these machines starts to increase. There is also a productivity issue to consider with staff members either requiring training to deal with simple day to day problems like paper jams and toner replacement.
Strategies to deal with the issues of soft costs associated with printers in your business will vary depending on the size of the organisation and the role of the printers however there are a few simple rules businesses can follow to minimise the impost.
- Choose a well-known brand of printer from a reputable printer sales and service company. Cheap printers may appear to be a good way to escape costs but a lack of track record, or serviceability may mean when and if the printer does stop (for any reason) your office productivity is affected for literally days.
- Do your homework – prior to purchase enquiries of a machines electricity usage, costs and frequency of toner replacement, and product reviews can help you avoid a costly mistake.
- Review the environment in which the printer or multifunction device will be going into and make balanced decisions about issues such as – number of users, alternate machines, dust and exposure to elements, heat and proximity to moisture.
Examine and Score your businesses reliance on seamless printing services. If your business has a high reliance i.e. it needs to be producing printed material on a daily basis to continue to deliver to customers, it may well save you money to look at service and maintenance contracts or even the possibility of outsourcing the whole printing functionality within your business.
Can your office printer really multi-task?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have seen a growing number of Multi Function Printers or Multi Function Devices entering the market.
The good news is that there are some absolutely fantastic machines that not only produce high quality printing but also scan, fax and copy documents. Some executive machines even come with built-in Wi Fi and network capabilities.
Not only do these new devices put an end to your office being filled with a plethora of electronic devices on people’s desks but they also create extra space in the workplace by centralising all functions and all print activity.. Many actually produce a cheaper price per page print cost as well.
With printer prices seemingly lower than ever before, the temptation to just buy and replace as older, single purpose devices expire is obvious. However the opportunity to increase functionality from one device makes sense immediately improving measurability and cost efficiency across both hard and soft costs.
Of course not all Multi Function Printer (MFPs )are made equal and it will pay to investigate or speak to a reliable source before you make your choice.
Most will have impressive cost per page rates (at average ink coverage rates) but some will tend to be really good at one thing (say colour printing) and possibly a little less than you would like on the other (say colour copying) so do your homework before you buy.
An advantage to taking part in the trend towards MFPs is that employees don’t have to deal with many different brands and types of machine. Better still if you purchase one from a quality supplier with modern and efficient warranty and service agreements, no-one in the office needs to become the designated expert when it comes to breakdowns or hold-ups.
Efficient office printing, faxing, scanning, copying and even emailing is now just a phone call away. And you might even make room for an extra employee in the process.
