How to Stop Wasting Money Unnecessarily on Printing

Regardless of how the latest methods and technologies have changed the face of business, paper remains a big part of of everyday business processes. Documents are used for everything from communications to invoicing, but if you’re like most, many of the materials you print wind up in the recycling or trash bin. By taking the necessary steps to decrease or eliminate waste your organization can realize immediate savings and start increasing profits; here’s how.

Choose the right printers. 

Begin the process by taking inventory of your print fleet to identify any old or inefficient equipment, single-use machines, or those that no longer suit your needs. By replacing these items with more cost-effective, environmentally friendly options you can realize instant savings on the cost of energy, maintenance, and consumables while enhancing document workflow.

Consume less paper.

Implement a series of print rules to maximize your paper usage and eliminate unnecessary waste, including:

• Set printer defaults to black-and-white only printing.
• Place restrictions on color printing according to department or user.
• Reduce the margins on printed documents to fit more text on the page.
• No printing of emails.
• When possible, ensure employees print on both sides of the paper.

Preview your documents.

Reduce errors and the need to reprint documents by using the print preview function before sending items to the printer. Making slight changes to the font size may help the material to fit on one page while a font that is too small may be hard to read.

Make use of your toner. 

Change the font on word programs to Times New Roman, Century Gothic, or Calibri, all of which take less room and use less toner than the default font, Arial. Utilize the draft mode function for documents that can be less than perfect, such as interoffice memos or file copies.

Embrace the cloud. 

Reduce waste by digitizing documents and storing them securely in the cloud. Information can be easily accessed at any time and from anywhere there is an Internet connection, and you can set up workflows on your multifunction printer to scan directly to the cloud or email.

The average small to medium-sized business can spend up to 15 percent of their budget on printing. With just a few simple changes, print costs can be reduced, while increasing efficiency and productivity. Contact us today to learn even more ways to save!