While new technologies make it easier than ever to store and transmit documents digitally, there’s no getting around the fact that you’ll need printouts. Quocirca’s Managed Print Landscape report shows 70% of establishments in the U.S. said paper is a very important part of their business. The cost of this office printing can be as much as 15% of the total revenue of the firm.

Printing costs money. Beyond the cost of the hardware itself, you must buy paper and ink or toner. On top of that, you’ll spend money on the energy needed to power the printer. Plus, the hardware can experience maintenance issues that cost even more to repair.

If you are looking to decrease the costs related to your organization’s printing practices, check out these money-saving tips.

Track Office Printing

There are several ways to track office printing. Tracking how much is printed and who is printing informs an organization of areas for possible cost reduction. The key point is to know what is happening in the office printing environment.

Tracking software allows you to analyze what’s going on with your printers and printing supplies and gives you actionable insights about the use of your printer infrastructure. The program sends requests to printers and gets responses; therefore, it can monitor all printers’ availability and activity while displaying their current state in real-time.

Implement Access Controls

Have employees use a card login, enter a pin ID or password when printing. More than half of print jobs lie unclaimed in printer exit trays. This is wasteful and costly. Requiring users to authenticate at the printer saves toner, and paper, and reduces the risk of a costly security breach.

Avoid Printing In Color

Color cartridges cost more than black cartridges. As a result, it stands to reason that you’ll save money if you only print in black and white. Follow this rule for every printout unless you need the color for a presentation-level document.

A policy in which all color printers are defaulted to print in black and white can reduce the number of non-essential color prints and better control color toner and ink supply costs.

Print Double-Sided 

Again, this is a tip that isn’t always useful for presentation-level documents. However, if you’re printing out a draft document for your own use, printing single-sided wastes a lot of paper.

Let’s say you have a 10-page document. If you print double-sided, you only need five sheets of paper. You get double the use out of your paper, which halves your paper costs and reduces waste.

Print 2 Up Or 4 Up

This is printing 4 copies on 1 page. Known as 2-up or 4-up printing. This would be for reference or maybe copies are needed only for a short time. It can reduce paper and supplies costs, as well as the additional sustainability benefits of duplexing.

Print Your Documents In Draft Mode

If you’re printing something that isn’t being presented or used for an important meeting, try printing using draft mode. This option is found on most printers in the advanced settings menu and is perfect for printing emails and other notes.

While items printed using draft mode may be lacking in quality, they also use significantly less ink when created.

Upgrade Your Printer

Print systems five years old or older are not as efficient in printing or energy consumption. They also do not have many of the security features of newer models. The cost of upgrading may well outweigh the loss of time and money in maintaining your current print environment.

Control Expenses With MPS

MPS is an acronym that is used often in the printer technology field and stands for Managed Print Services. Managed Print Services is a service offered by print providers to assist businesses with streamlining printer management while minimizing costs associated with printing.

Implementing an MPS solution will show what is fully visible, who is printing, what is printing, how much is being printed, and when printing occurs. With the MPS solution in place, expenses can be reduced by as much as 30%. It also helps with data security policies and compliance for companies that are heavily regulated.