Clueless about print costs? You're not alone

Businesses are clueless about how much money they are spending on printing and many realise they must seize the initiative in order to cut costs and reduce carbon waste.

Nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of companies are unaware of how much they spend on printing, according to recent research, and when additional costs such as power consumption are factored in the picture gets worse.

Simon Norbury, head of ICT at Westminster City Council, said companies have to understand the full cost of ownership where printing is concerned, adding he is currently addressing such issues within his own function.

Norbury said many companies may be supporting massive inefficiencies with the maintenance of old and outdated printers. They may also have an inefficient ratio of printers to staff, making some units "very expensive luxuries".

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Kevin Fitzpatrick, CTO of Manpower, called for personal printers to be severely restricted and the implementation of strategies including "fax to email" solutions and consolidating onto multi-function units for printing, copying and faxing to keep costs down.

Using less paper is key and many new copiers and printers include paper-saving functionality but Nicholas Bellenberg, IT director at UK publisher Hachette Filipacchi, said: "The cost of paper is still the smallest part of the office printing bill after cap-ex, consumables and maintenance."

As such, power-saving functions are also critical. But more than a third of companies surveyed by copier and printer giant Ricoh said the most difficult print cost to quantify was spending on consumables like toner and ink.

Rob Neil, head of ICT and customer service at Ashford Borough Council, told silicon.com: "Technology issues are the least of the problem - the real issue is the cultural change required to prise people away from their 'own' desktop or workgroup print devices."

Luke Mellors, IT director at Expotel, said: "I would say that environmental standards are impacting the reduction of paper and the use of more renewable alternatives, but neither currently is encouraging me to look heavily at a solution that in the past I have found to be unmanageable, not measurable and unattainable."