How can your business start saving on printing costs today

There are a number of factors to keep in mind in case you would like to calculate the real printing cost in your office in order to know how to eventually reduce it. The final cost of utilising an office printer is not just the price of purchase of the printing machine. The total cost will depend as well on the cost of the ink or toner, the paper as well as the maintenance expenses.  You need to also take into account fitting replacement parts and the photoconductor drum in a laser printer, for instance.

Many companies struggle with the question of how to actually save money when it comes to printing costs. These costs can turn out to be very expensive and damaging to your wallet at times. Particularly if you are running a company and need to print a large number of pages on a regular basis. Just a few well-planned measures will make a huge difference when it comes to reducing your printing expenses.

The following are some of the best practices when it comes to printing that can help you significantly reduce your printing costs:

Avoid printer repairs by simply printing one page a week

Many inkjet printers require repairing whenever the ink nozzles are clogged due to dried-up ink. In order to prevent this, printing just a page or two per week can stop this from happening. It doesn’t need to be a twenty page document, something small with some colour will suffice to keep the ink flowing. The typical example of a great page to print is Google’s homepage, as it does not use so much ink but it does have all the colours on it.

Purchase compatible ink cartridges only

When you buy ink cartridges online, don’t look for those expensive OEM branded cartridges. You might want to explore other alternatives instead, besides the branded cartridges. These are perfectly compatible with your printers and can do the same job at cheaper costs.

Consider external suppliers

You might be spending too much by printing all your documents in-house without knowing it, so it is worth looking for external suppliers for your print jobs. The market is quite competitive because every company wants to save money. It is important to investigate a bit, do your research and find a trustworthy local online reprographics expert supplier who can provide a competitive price.

Do not use personal printers

You need to consider minimising or completely eliminating the usage of personal printers. Insist, instead, that your employees use MFP printers or multi-function printers. These are much more efficient and just easier to maintain, they also allow you to have some control over who has access to sensitive information and data.

Stop turning the printer on and off

Some printers can actually use a larger amount of ink when they are getting ready to print after having been switched off for a while, so get the habit of putting them in standby mode when they’re not in use, and you will save ink in the long run.

Wait after the first message

There is no real need to replace the cartridge right after receiving the usual message that the toner level is low. Wait until your cartridge is completely empty and only then replace it with a new one. In case you are using toner cartridges, you can consider removing the cartridge and shaking it a couple of times horizontally. You will most probably be able to continue printing with the very same cartridge and without any error.

Use both sides

The average office worker prints about ten thousand sheets of paper a year, according to research from the Environmental Protection Agency. If double sided printing would always be used in firms this amount would be cut by half. The way we print our documents can truly have a significant impact on to whole world since it has influence on energy usage, water, and it can ultimately reduce the need to cut down more trees to make more paper.