What you need to know about Printing and Profitability

In the conservative financial climate we live in, squeezing the most out of limited budgets and managing more with fewer resources is the new business mantra. Information technology is no exception. Businesses of all sizes are increasingly focused on streamlining their IT infrastructure, both to bring down costs and waste, and to boost their investment value. While the focus is on optimizing investments in PCs and servers, smart businesses are even re-examining their printing infrastructure. Taking stock of what and how much you print, and with what imaging devices, can impact your bottom line and profitability.One of the aspects of running a business smoothly is all about setting goals and making sure they are met. When it comes to building a business and all its systems, measuring the value it generates against the investment costs is critical to determining your success. In other words, the higher the business value, the better your overall business performance.

Consider these facts – businesses believe they spend an average of three percent of their revenues annually on printing, copying and faxing according to an InfoTrends study. But in reality, overall document expenditures (including hardware and 'people' costs) averaged six percent of annual revenues across all industries. The reason for the difference is ignorance towards the hidden costs, which if monitored carefully, could turn into cost saving opportunities.

For example, one common mistake is failing to assess the total costs of ownership or TCO of the printers. TCO addresses everything beyond the initial purchase costs and includes ‘hidden costs’ such as paper, inks and toner, maintenance, staff training, replacement costs, etc. Unfortunately, most SMBs base their decisions solely on the cost of the printer, ignoring the long-term operational expenses. This is a common mistake, as recurring running costs will steadily eat into your cash flow. As the business grows and you invest in more printers and consumables, this will only get worse.

Another common mistake is underutilizing your printing capacity. According to the InfoTrends study, most companies use approximately half the printing capacity available to them and often have more printing devices than people! While these findings are based on US businesses, it is hard to imagine that Indian businesses are doing any better.

Rightsizing your printing infrastructure could save your business as much as 30 percent annually in printing and imaging costs. But before you can achieve these cost savings, you must have a clear view of your business printing, copying and scanning requirements. This audit is a one-time exercise that will help your business determine actual print consumption, the types of consumables you are purchasing, the number of printer models and brands you’ve invested in, and the variety of support and maintenance agreements the business has acquired.

For example, if your business currently has separate devices for printing, copying, scanning and faxing, you may consider upgrading/swapping them for a single multi-function device with all these capabilities built-in. Consolidating different functions in one device will save on running costs, reduce energy consumption and free up precious office real estate. And let’s not forget the reduced maintenance costs from supporting a single device as opposed to four individual ones.

If your business has outgrown the printers that served you well or if your printers are nearing the end of their useful life, replacing them with newer printing technology can potentially save money, energy, time, and boost productivity and cost-savings. Ask yourself the following questions and ‘right-size’ your office printing infrastructure:

• Have you installed personal printers for employees who rarely need to print? Can you consolidate these printers and replace them with a single networked printer?
• Do you have the right mix of printers for your business needs? Do you really require colour printers or will monochrome printing suffice? Is a single-function or multi-function printer a better fit? Have you purchased sufficient devices to meet demand or too much?
• Are there any unused printers in constant need of repair or simply not practical for your needs?
• Is there a new printing innovation or technology that could deliver immediate business value, streamline a key process or in other ways, demonstrate it's a measurable business benefit? Is it worth upgrading your current printing infrastructure?