Managing Print Costs Whitepapers
Assessing and Benchmarking Document Costs: Developing a Future Document Strategy
The proliferation of output devices such as printers, copiers, fax machines, and scanners has significantly contributed to the dramatic increase in document output volume and cost over the years. While the majority of today’s organizations acknowledge the potential savings from better document management, many still lack the understanding and expertise to address the problem. Third-party providers including office equipment manufacturers, document outsourcing firms, and independent service providers are offering assessment services that focus on identifying costs and inefficiencies around document output.
This white paper is designed to serve as a baseline tool for individuals within corporations that are tasked with assessing the current state of their enterprise document systems and developing a future document strategy.
Assessing the Imaging and Printing Environment
These days, IT operations are under a microscope like never before. The pressure is on to run compliant, cost-effective operations that maximize productivity and minimize costs. At the same time, decreased operational costs and proven returns on investments have become baseline requirements.
There is, of course, no single solution that can achieve all these goals. However, there is at least one very prominent area that businesses of all sizes and types may exploit: the opportunity to streamline and organize imaging and printing strategies. Resolving this situation is a no-brainer, because it can enhance the bottom line, increase employee productivity, and ultimately, create competitive advantage.
Balanced Deployment at Work
Recent IDC research suggests that “a large site with 1,000 plus employees is paying $200 plus per employee in direct hardcopy costs alone.”* So, not surprisingly Gartner research reveals a new trend in the way organizations think about managing their printing and imaging environments. “By YE05, 60 percent of all enterprises will have begun an enterprise wide effort to optimize document output fleet spending through changes to their purchasing and asset management policies.”** The same research suggests that there are significant savings to be had by those who turn their thinking into action, “Through YE08, enterprises that actively manage their document output fleets will be able to save between 10 percent and 30 percent of their recurrent spending.”
Capella Technologies MIPA PIN Data Sheet
Fast, flexible and easy to use, HP LaserJet MFP devices have revolutionized the way that businesses of all sizes communicate. Still, the very versatility of these machines presents businesses with a number of challenges.
How do you keep unauthorized personnel from using these devices. How do you prevent misuse and waste? How do you allocate printer costs? How do you safeguard proprietary and con"dential documents? How do you track usage and forecast expenses?
The MegaTrack In Printer Agent (MIPA) with PIN-code access helps you address all these issues with a single “in printer” solution.
Examining the Cost and Value of Documents
Dramatic changes in the ways that organizations define and use documents today have given rise to tremendous opportunities— as well as significant risks. The same documents that can have a negative impact on costs can have a positive effect on helping achieve an organization’s goals. To ensure that documents are used to their best advantage, it is important to have a clear understanding of the kinds of costs they can incur, as well as a sense of the ways in which they can create value. It may not be possible to determine precisely the value of a document in the same way that one can identify the specific costs associated with it, but recognizing that cost and value coexist is vital to managing documents effectively.
How to Apply a Strategic Approach to Managing Printing and Imaging
There’s more to running an efficient and cost-effective printing and imaging environment than just buying new devices. A well-planned, strategic approach to managing printing and imaging can reduce costs and increase productivity through the entire lifecycle of the devices in your environment. HP Total Print Management (TPM) can help by bringing together balanced deployment, optimized utilization and industry-leading networked technology to optimize operations.
Think about it: Evaluate your current needs, resources and costs.
Act on it: Plan strategic improvements and put them into place.
Work with it: Manage your optimized environment on an ongoing basis.
Get help with it: Learn more about how HP TPM can help at every step.
Quality and Cost Savings-It Pays to Buy Remanufactured
In trying economic times, smart companies are taking a hard look at the costs of producing hard copies. Dollar-savvy purchasers are turning to the cost-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative of compatible and remanufactured cartridges.
Eckelkamp Retirement Planning, a small business offering independent financial advising services, is one company that saves time and money by ordering remanufactured cartridges.
“We’ve been using remanufactured cartridges for years, and have had a great experience with them,” said Susan Snyder, operations manager for Eckelkamp.
Remanufactured Cartridges-Making the Case
In 1997 the United States Environmental Protection Agency stated that remanufactured products are as good as new in its publication WasteWi$e Update. The publication promotes the benefits of purchasing recycled products, and is distributed to businesses that are WasteWise Partners, government agencies and other subscribers.
The EPA update defined "remanufacturing," and contrasted the benefits of remanufacturing and recycling. The article concludes that remanufactured and reused products are far more beneficial than recycled products with specific reference to remanufactured toner cartridges.
The Optimized Imaging and Output Environment-IDC
When it comes to the bottom line, few C-level executives would dispute the importance of having the right mix of their core resources, whether it's people, physical infrastructure, processes, or information. Misallocation of these resources can lead to higher costs and makes it harder for companies to get the most from their employees, processes, and assets. The premise of this brief – supported by a recent study conducted by IDC – is that these same effects also apply to a company's imaging infrastructure, defined as the devices and software that support printing, copying, faxing, and scanning within an enterprise. The key point is that when a company's imaging needs are out of alignment with its infrastructure, the bottom line suffers in a variety of ways.