Best Printing Solutions Can Reduce IT Costs

While businesses information technology costs typically have large, one-time outlays every couple of years for actual equipment or for software, many managers assume costs should go down afterwards. However, one of the biggest ongoing IT costs a company has tends to be its peripheral and network printing. From toners to printer units to paper, reproduction costs continue to march on month after month, eating away at operating margins. However, these expenses can be limited; they do not have to be accepted as sunk costs that can’t be reduced or controlled.

Limit the Equipment

Instead of having a dedicated printer on every company desk, many offices utilize a business hub approach that requires computers to be hooked to a specific network printer, sharing one printer among five to twenty desks. This approach reduces care and maintenance costs for multiple desk units, having to pay for different toner types, and uncontrolled consumption of paper. It also reduces loss of replacement ink and toner that disappears over time.

Printing Solutions Reduce Maintenance Downtime and Waste

By utilizing a network hub printing system, maintenance can be combined with a service contract so that the core machine is always maintained and kept in optimum performance. Compared to desk units, a network hub printer with dedicated service will last longer and won’t be replaced as often. It will also consume far less toner, paper, and electricity, all of which add costs to the bottom line of a business operation.

Having a large printing solution setup enables IT teams to monitor printer use. This ensures employees are using printers for business use only. Comprehensive printing solutions offer a wide range of features including.

• Printer Managing: Tracking what each printer is doing at any given time, minimizing downtime and troubleshooting problems remotely


• Patch Management: Firmware updates and patches can be pushed from the IT teams office rather than having to update a printer from an end users computer


• Scanning Solutions: This benefit allows employees to reverse documentation, producing electronic copies that can then be emailed out to others as needed. Doing so reduces significant costs in redundant photocopying and paper expenses. Once employees understand how scanning can be incorporated in their tasks, many easily adapt to the method, converting much of their paper to electronic format. Over time, this approach also saves on physical storage space as well as paper files and folders are reduced.


• Employee Tracking: Networked printing makes it easy to start tracking printing production and which employees are the major cost drivers in paper usage. This allows a business to then examine the employee’s practices and determine if changes can be made to reduce paper and printing costs. For example, a given station that regularly produces updates for office manuals could be converted to electronic format as discussed above. This would reduce paper and toner expenses associated with a quarterly update process. Finance and accounting offices would definitely benefit from this approach.

Most printing solutions can do much more that listed above, the overall goal is finding a solution that meets the budget but also allows businesses to grow without prohibiting productivity.  For more information about printing solutions visit Dell.com

Conclusion

Technology can make an office hum with productivity potential, but it needs to be actively managed. Otherwise the equipment and supplies end up being used like toys, which can be a financial drain on a company. Too much of a good thing creates waste. A lean operation creates value and an appreciation for the resources available, using them efficiently on a consistent basis.

Author Bio: David Malmborg, works with Dell right now he is very interested in IT consulting services learn more here When not working he enjoys reading, hiking and writing about technology.