The Prints and the Pauper

Print has been sniffed at for many years as one of IT’s poor relations, but organisations underestimate its impact on operational costs – and potential savings – at their peril if they don’t want to end up significantly poorer themselves.

OK, so printers perform an important function and, paperless office notwithstanding, the place just wouldn’t be the same without the good old colour laser in the corner. But let’s face it, printing isn’t exactly glamorous or interesting is it? Why should it be? The sum that the average enterprise spends on printing every year only amounts to between 1 and 3% of its annual revenues. It’s barely worth even thinking about.

Hang on a minute. What were those figures again? 3% of annual revenues? Really? That can’t be right. Can it? Well, according to Gartner it is, and others put the figure as high as 4 or even 5%. And oh yes, IDC reckons that 67% – more than two thirds – of enterprises can’t or don’t quantify their print spend. Ears pricked? Curiosity piqued? Then we’ll begin.

“The cost of general printing in a business cannot be underestimated and the bigger the organisation, the harder it is to keep track of print costs and keep them down”, nods Chas Moloney, Marketing Director at Ricoh UK. “Factor in the cost of printers themselves, paper, and toner, as well as the expense of disposing of waste, and it is clear that a fleet of printers constitutes a considerable drain on resources if not properly managed.”

As such, many print sector vendors are now at pains to help companies rein in and better manage their print practices and costs. Indeed one manufacturer, Lexmark, has even taken an ostensibly anti-printing stance; quite literally extending a less is more philosophy as far as its slogan. “Print Less. Save More.”

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