The modern business might be more oriented toward making digital files rather than printing hard copies, but for many, both are still a requirement. Plenty of companies rely or even depend on high-volume printing for marketing or even product development. However, creating a print management system in-house can come with hidden costs that you may not have even realized. Let’s dig into what goes into print management and how an outsourced provider might be the solution to your problems.
The Hidden Costs of In-House Print Management
If your company needs to house and operate a small fleet of printers, chances are you need to develop an entire workflow based around them. Many businesses assume that building the entire pipeline and setup from scratch will ultimately save money, which is all that really matters to a small business that needs to get above ground.
In reality, using printers goes far beyond just ordering toner or ink cartridges when you run out. The expenses can include:
Capital Expenditures
These are all the upfront costs that go into purchasing printers and are, strictly speaking, not that hidden if you’re buying printers from reputable dealers. This is especially true if you make all your purchases at once and don’t lease or rent out the vehicles.
However, the hidden part of this price is based on the expected lifetime of each device that you use. Eventually, every device will reach a point where it no longer works at an efficiency level necessary to keep it viable for the business. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to predict or determine the depreciation of a printer. In general, printers are expected to depreciate to only 40% of their original value over five years, but this figure is not set in stone. Additionally, while printers technically depreciate, some companies might end up scrapping them altogether and purchasing entirely new ones after five or 10 years.
Maintenance and Repairs
How often do your printers, copiers, or other office machinery break? How long does the maintenance on those machines last?
For some companies that rely on processing data quickly, not having access to a working printer can be debilitating. The healthcare industry reports suggest that printer downtime can lead to losses of between $5,000 and $9,000 per minute.
Couple that with the actual cost of getting a skilled technician to repair the device (or self-training as a business-owner-slash-print-manager), and you can get to dizzying numbers.
Consumables
This is perhaps the largest cost of owning and operating multiple printers. In some cases even, printers and similar devices are loss leaders, with the actual device being a fraction of the cost of its consumable. Due to the inherent mistrust in third-party cartridges and consumables, as well as desiring simpler taxation and filing, many businesses stick to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products. These usually have minor performance benefits over third-party ones, but come at a significant markup.
Apart from this, you have to consider that most printer toners and cartridges are rated for a laughably low ink coverage over a single page. Printing pages with lots of small text or images will drain the toner much quicker than anticipated. Add to this the possibility of employees wasting toner due to printing errors or making superfluous copies, and consumable costs can quickly add up.
Employee Time
Managing an in-house print environment demands employee time, often pulling them away from higher-value tasks. IT teams might need to troubleshoot common printing errors, but that means office staff might be left to handle periodic maintenance, removing jams, or restocking the printing equipment when needed. Tracking and restocking this equipment needs to be monitored to remain efficient, which requires time and conscious effort.
Compliance and Security Issues
Businesses in industries that handle private and confidential data, such as healthcare, law, or even finance, need to keep a tight check on what documents can be printed and disseminated both throughout and outside of the office. Data breaches or failing to abide by industry standards on data security can result in costly losses and substantial fines.
How Outsourcing Print Management Improves Your Profit Margins
When all these hidden costs start piling up, it can be a chore to even calculate how much a single printer is actually costing you to operate on a monthly basis, let alone over its lifetime. That’s why outsourcing print management companies exist in the first place.
Saving Time
While you could, in theory, take the time and effort to develop a system from scratch, that’s time that could be better spent furthering your actual business strategy. With a print management provider, the entire process is managed by a team of experts dedicated to improving your processes as much as possible. This allows you to get a custom built system and not worry if it’s the right choice for you.
Fixed, Predictable Costs
The costs of buying or renting equipment and stocking it with consumables can be unreliable and fluctuate greatly, especially if newer devices completely eclipse older models in capabilities and become must-haves.
With a printer management service, these sudden influxes of cost can be lowered or negated entirely. Typically, a service provider can offer printer or copier leasing for a few years, complete with full maintenance and restocking coverage. Then, you can replace the model with a newer one and renegotiate the monthly payment. Print providers can also offer much better deals on consumables or larger volume orders of devices due to existing partnerships with manufacturers or distributors that give them discounts for bulk purchases. These savings are then partially passed onto the end consumer (i.e. the company using the service).
Improved Efficiency
Paper and consumable waste is perhaps one of the biggest enemies of effective and timely printing. A print management provider can help remedy that with software solutions that partially automate your printing rules and allow the company greater remote control of their printers.
Access to Modern Technology
While printing itself hasn’t changed much over the past few decades, devices have been getting faster, more efficient, or simply getting more bells and whistles for the cost. An old printer simply can’t compete, and yet you run the risk of the new device becoming obsolete itself in a few years’ time. A printing service provider can keep your printers up-to-date (at least as reasonably as possible) with long-term leases that allow you to replace old devices every few years.
Proactive Maintenance and Security
Prevention is better than the cure, and the same concept applies to printing technology and security. A managed print provider is tasked with keeping tabs on vital printer updates, upgrades, or replacements to ensure you get the safest, most efficient printer you can that suits your needs.
How to Choose the Best Provider
If printing is vital to your enterprise’s longevity and productivity, then you can’t leave it to the first service provider that your search results find. A reputable print management provider such as Buckmaster will present a comprehensive review of your company’s printing needs (based on the information you provided) and develop several plans that account for your requirements and possible scaling options. This allows you to keep the same provider while growing your company, ensuring that your printing fleet can handle the increasing workload.
So, if you’re in Sacramento and ready to print out a much-improved company budget sheet, contact Buckmaster today and start saving on your printer management.