Do you have a printing fleet that generates a lot of expenses? You should know that it is possible to reduce printing costs. It is even the basis of a good management of the printing park. To do this, you need to eliminate the hidden sources of expenses. To help you see this, discover the hidden costs of a printing fleet. 

Hidden Cost #1: Excessive printing 

Wasted consumables such as paper and ink cartridges are the number one source of expense for printing departments. That’s because when you print more than you need, you speed up the time it takes to replenish supplies. To avoid waste, you need to cut your printing jobs down to the essentials. With this in mind, it is recommended that you limit the number of people allowed to do a print job. In addition, adopt practices that limit expenses. For example, for internal needs, use black and white printing in draft mode. To manage your company’s print flow, equip yourself with a print management software that provides detailed reports. 

Hidden Cost #2: Excess Print Devices

Printers, copiers and MFPs, a print fleet is made up of many different types of devices. The question being, “Is all the printing equipment useful?” The mistake to avoid is to have a printing fleet that is too large in relation to the printing volumes. This situation causes several expenses in the long run. In addition to the purchase cost, too much equipment generates high electricity bills and maintenance costs. That’s why you need to match the number of printing devices to your printing needs. It’s best to buy new printers as your needs grow. 

Hidden Cost #3: Multi-brand printing devices

Having a fleet of printers made up of different makes and models of peripherals can cause overspending. And for good reason, this configuration forces you to deal with different providers. You will have to contact different suppliers for the replenishment of ink and toner cartridges. The expenses are higher because each supplier offers different prices. It can also be complicated for the maintenance of printing equipment. Indeed, for each printer and photocopier, you have to sign a maintenance contract with each manufacturer. 

Hidden Cost #4: High Supply Inventory

For fear of running out of printing supplies, some companies buy a lot of paper and ink cartridges in advance. Yet, this method creates unnecessary expenses when storage is not used. What if the ink or toner cartridges stored upstream reach their shelf life? Another scenario: What if the printer breaks down or is replaced? In both cases, you are left with unusable printing supplies. To avoid unnecessary expenses, use print management software with alerts when the consumable threshold is reached. 

Hidden Cost #5: Unavailability of a maintenance service 

A device in your print fleet can fail or malfunction at any time. If the problem is not fixed quickly, the unavailability of the device will affect the productivity of your print department. This loss of valuable time can cause inconvenience especially if you have urgent print jobs to do. To avoid this loss of time and money, remote monitoring of printers and other devices in the fleet is recommended. In other words, opt for the delegated management of your printing fleet. This solution allows you to benefit from proactive and reactive management.  To deepen the subject, discover how remote printer management works?

KPAX, the reference print management solution 

Need software to monitor your print fleet? Choose the KPAX solution, a print and copy management software.  KPAX is a software solution compatible with various office printing systems. It allows you to manage a printing fleet composed of peripherals of different brands. This solution is aimed at all types of structures and different types of business sectors. This includes professionals in the printing market and IT managers of large accounts.  Don’t wait any longer to use the KPAX solution and take advantage of a customized print manager.