There isn’t a business out there that wouldn’t love to save money during these troubled and unpredictable times.
Printing costs, in particular, is something that most people believe is an unnecessary expenditure and one that can be easily forgoed. However, with a few little tweaks and the right knowledge, you can make big savings on printing expenses, from paper to ink to the printer itself. Whether it’s a letter, invoice, internal memo, or even a poster inside a shop window, there’s often a need for a printer and it’s quite frustrating not to have one when needed! Here’s how you can save a bit of money on printing costs.
Use print management software
The rise of print management software has been a huge boost for business managers the world over. Like any piece of software, there are several types available for different budgets, but the main goal of these programs is to reduce printer expenses, save ink and paper, and increase accountability regarding employee printer use. First off, this type of software can see all the printer tasks and you’ll know exactly what everyone is printing out. This means employees ideally won’t waste paper and ink by printing their personal documents, such as boarding passes, extracurricular work, or (heaven forbid) CVs for other jobs.
Secondly, after you select ‘Print’ on a task from your computer, every employee will have to input their own ID number at the printer itself to complete the task. This helps reduce waste, as sometimes people have the habit of clicking ‘Print’ 10 times when something doesn’t immediately come out of the printer. It could be that the paper is gone from the tray or the ink is low, for example.
Only print if you really must
If sounds obvious, but why print something if you don’t really have to? Emailing or cloud sharing is faster if you need to send a document to a customer, colleague, or client, and you can also scan something instead of using the copier. While it has become easier to find your printer model online in order to buy new and recycled ink and toner cartridges, the best way to save money on printing costs is not to use it so much! Always think first if something can be sent electronically before hitting the print button.
Be more economical with the print settings
Having a modern and cost-effective printer is one thing, but if you simply adjust the right settings for your printer before you start anything, you can save a lot of resources and money! Printing in colour is very expensive, especially if you have no real need if colour ink, so always choose black and white as the default option. As well, select ‘Print on both sides’ so that you’re printing double-sided and not wasting a perfectly good paper space.
Fonts like Century Gothic, Ecofont and Times New Roman are regarded as the best options to reduce ink, and you can even change your printing margin preferences from 1.25 inches to 0.75 inches. It doesn’t look like much but your bank account will thank you! Don’t forget to use the ‘Print Preview’ option before you hit the print button, as you might spot a mistake and then won’t have to re-print the page. You can also put your printer to sleep to conserve energy!
