| Do you like the new color printers' speed and | | | | Do not be fooled by fixed-cost per page contracts, as |
| capabilities? Printer manufacturers make it very easy | | | | you will find they are calculated on a minimum annual |
| for organizations to utilize fast printing with excellent | | | | use as well as an average color per page. What this |
| color by reducing the purchase price but clobber them | | | | means is, that if you use fewer pages, the service |
| with the cost of toner cartridges and other | | | | provider will deliver the paper to you anyway whether |
| consumables to run the devices. | | | | you need it or not. Also, if you use more color toner |
| On the other hand, older printers are just as costly in | | | | cartridges than stipulated in your contract based on the |
| the long run - they are inefficient, have very few | | | | average use they will be charged to you. The |
| capabilities and the average price of a black toner | | | | experience of almost all color MFP users is that they |
| cartridge is $60 with a 3,000 page yield. In addition, | | | | used more color cartridges than they projected for all |
| because there is no other way to dispose of it, | | | | the reasons mentioned. |
| excess toner is usually thrown away instead of | | | | Printer manufacturers do not want to sell you |
| recycled, adding to carcinogenic waste in our landfills. | | | | document output management systems and will only |
| When you buy newer printers you get better toner | | | | offer you proprietary solutions, to get you totally |
| cartridges that totally recycle excess toner as well as | | | | dependent on their equipment and consumables. There |
| a recycling policy from the manufacturer. For example, | | | | are independent software vendors that provide |
| HP sells you an ink cartridge with a prepaid return | | | | state-of-the-art output management solutions that will |
| envelope making re-cycling convenient for you. | | | | work with all industry standard printing systems and |
| Whether you are a small- to medium-sized business or | | | | MFPs, some of which can even run part of the solution |
| a large organization, you can consolidate a number of | | | | within the printer or MFP, not requiring any additional |
| desktop printers with limited capabilities and high | | | | hardware, just the software running on a server PC. |
| consumable costs into a multifunction printer (MFP) that | | | | If you looked at this year's energy bill and compared it |
| prints, copies, scans and can send a fax - all in one | | | | to last year's, you will have noticed it has gone up. If |
| machine. For your marketing needs, your MFP may | | | | you looked at your old black and white toner cost and |
| also do high-resolution color printing. | | | | compared it with your black and color toner cost of |
| Well, all that new technology is great but at what | | | | you new MFP devices, it has probably more than |
| cost? The printer manufacturers will make it easy for | | | | doubled. |
| you to acquire the devices and from a pure | | | | Don't get me wrong, to stay competitive, reduce |
| maintenance angle, consolidating 10 to 20 desktop | | | | support needs, improve presentations where needed |
| printers into one MFP makes sense. | | | | and benefit from improved duty cycles, you have to |
| The new printers have more efficient toner cartridges | | | | invest in new technology devices. However, you also |
| with 5,000 to 10,000 page yields per black cartridge | | | | want to have an overall reduced cost despite the |
| and 3,000 to 5,000 per color cartridge. Depending on | | | | extra capabilities. It is in your interest to control cost |
| the amount of color on a page, the page yield per | | | | and improve productivity, while protecting you |
| cartridge can be significantly less, especially when | | | | corporate secrets and the privacy of your employees |
| printing presentations with a lot of solid color areas on | | | | and customers. Therefore, your responsibility is to |
| the pages - this may result in as little as a 500 page | | | | deploy a state-of-the-art document output |
| yield for a color cartridge. | | | | management system. |
| A person understanding the need for self discipline and | | | | A rules-based document output management system |
| a sincere understanding of the impact on the | | | | will pay for itself faster than most other software |
| environment will not print anything they do not really | | | | packages that promise savings. The benefits in an |
| need, select draft mode for all prints until the final | | | | MFP printing environment with predominantly color |
| version, and use only color when necessary, such as in | | | | printers, where 90% of the print jobs do not require |
| marketing materials for use. | | | | color, are huge and an amortization can be as short as |
| However, most of us do not belong to that group of | | | | a few months. But also in a predominantly black toner |
| people and need some help. This help can come in | | | | environment the toner savings can be as large as |
| form of Document Output Management, where the | | | | 30% as most documents can be produced in lower |
| management system enforces policies that reduce | | | | toner density. |
| paper and toner waste. | | | | Additional savings can be achieved with an ID-based |
| For example, a 12-page presentation when printed in | | | | print collection, also referred to as pull printing, where a |
| high-resolution full-color mode can cost as much as $5 | | | | print job remains in the print server queue until the |
| whereas the same presentation in draft black and | | | | owner of the document is identified and authenticated |
| white mode would cost 36 cents and if printed in | | | | at the printer of choice. Rules that documents that |
| duplex 18 cents. If your users do not know this or just | | | | have been in the queue for more than three days will |
| don't care, you can be spending thousands of dollars | | | | be automatically deleted as well as allowing the user to |
| per printer unnecessarily. | | | | look at the print queue and manually delete uncollected |
| A Document Output Management System allows you | | | | prints usually lead to a further savings of 10-15% of the |
| to apply rules to certain users, printers and document | | | | cost of consumables. |
| types, so that shop floor workers can only print black, | | | | If an organization is serious about sustainability and their |
| a manager can only print reports in color, the legal | | | | environmental policies they will include document output |
| department can only print final contracts in | | | | management as an essential tool towards achieving |
| high-resolution and other documents in black and white | | | | sustainability. Output Management can make |
| draft mode. | | | | measurable improvements to workflow, toner use, |
| On top of the waste generated due to the lack of | | | | paper waste for printing and copying as well as |
| appreciation and the time it will take to educate staff in | | | | document tracking and accounting to comply with new |
| sustainability, there is the element of abuse of office | | | | governance and accountability requirements as well as |
| equipment by printing, copying and faxing personal | | | | reducing an organization's carbon footprint. |
| documents on equipment in the office. | | | | |
