Even though printing plays an integral part in the day-to-day operations of most businesses, most don’t look to their print environment as a place to cut costs. In fact, the print environment is often the last un-audited area for most businesses.

Everything from ordering supplies, to where your printers are placed in your office can impact your print costs. Significant annual savings could be hiding in your print environment.

Here are six ways you could be spending more than you think on your print:

1.  Supplies – While not exactly a hidden cost, mismanagement of supplies can add up! Employees may purchase more toner than needed, for example. If supplies are stored in an unsecured location they could easily be open to theft or misuse.

2.  Hardware – When it’s time to replace your printer, do you look at the price, or the longer term cost of operation? Most of us just go to the nearest office supply store and pick the least expensive model on the shelf. A good rule of thumb to remember: the lower the purchase price, the higher the cost-of-operation.

3.  Lost Productivity – Printers located in the wrong spot in your office can negatively impact productivity.

4.  Unnecessary Use – Are your employees printing personal material on your machines? Is your printer defaulted to print single-sided copies or color? Eliminating unnecessary printing and defaulting to black and white, double-sided prints can cut your paper consumption in half and save you money.

5.  Support and Repairs – When a printer goes down the first call is usually to the IT department. Often they don’t have the resources or time to repair a printer and call in a third party repair person. Now you’ve not only wasted valuable IT time, but have incurred a repair expense as well!

6.  Energy Use – Older devices are much less energy efficient. Replacing them with Energy-Star rated devices can lower your energy costs and offer you business sustainability.

Managing your office print environment can be complex, but the potential savings can be significant! Print costs are often a business’ third highest expense behind rent and payroll. Many businesses have turned to a Managed Print Services provider to help them get their print costs under control and make their print environments more efficient.

If you’d like to find out if Managed Print Services is right for your business, contact LaserCycle today for a free, no-obligation print assessment today!