All posts by Caroline

Caroline is a Director at Digital Print Management, a leading print management company specialising in providing print and mailing solutions. Having spent 25 years in the transpromo industry she is one of the UK's leading expert's in print and mail solutions.

Why choosing a print supplier is like buying a PC?

When you decide to choose a print supplier it’s a bit like buying a PC.

Why?

Because you need it to do three things really well:

  • Sturdy and reliable in other words like your print supplier you want it to be able to withstand the rigours of working with you and be capable of fulfilling your expectations.

  • Processing – like your PC you want your printer to be quick to respond to your needs.

  • Competitive – you will probably have a budget and this will determine what you will use your PC for; your print supplier is much the same; a competitively priced service is an advantage but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.

Price shouldn’t be the main motivator in choosing your printer and in some instances this principle also applies to purchasing your PC.

If you want a PC to do a basic job then you will undoubtedly buy a cheap netbook but don’t be surprised when it doesn’t deliver all that you want it to do. The same can be said when seeking to work with a printer supplier. If you purchase print purely on price because you consider it to be valueless then I would suggest that the cheapest price is probably the right choice for you!

Think about the features of a PC; what do you want it to be able to do for you; do you have a specification; how long do you invisage using your PC until you replace it?

The same approach can be applied when you are looking for a good supplier of print.

Here are some things to consider:

  • Are they financially secure?
  • How long have they been in business?
  • Have you determined what or how you will use your supplier? For example if you are considering outsourcing your cheque printing and processing; it’s unlikely you will be using the local printer down the road as you need to be working with an APACS accredited printer!

Be clear on what type of supplier you are looking for which in turn, will aid you in being able to provide a specification(s) to the print company.

Are you seeking to establish a long/short term working partnership? If you are considering outsourcing an aspect of your back office printing such as invoice processing then you must be looking at a longer term relationship.

By not properly evaluating what there is in the market place you could end up having to go through the whole process further down the line.

Finally don’t be taken in by a supplier who offers many other features that are irrelevant to the task in hand; it is very easy to be sidetracked by wonderful solutions and various offerings but they may not have any bearing on your own specification and requirements.

A reputable print company will be able to reduce your costs by understanding your requirement and offer their expertise by suggesting an alternate but just as effective solution; in fact, your supplier should be actively promoting cost reductions where feasible.

Price should not be the dictum when choosing whom you wish to partner with; this is a short term and ineffective approach it won’t save you money in the long term because you won’t have established good working partnerships, and in the short term, loyalty to you and the company will be compromised as your print supplier will devalue you as a customer in other words you will be perceived as someone who only ever buys on price this does not make for a good relationship with your print supplier!

So even if it’s a PC or a print supplier you want it to be there for you through thick and thin and deliver when you need it most!

For a free and impartial discussion just call us!

Outsourcing the pros and cons. Why customers are scared to change suppliers?

I want to share a true story.

In March of this year, Digital Print Management met with a £200m+ turnover company based in the Midlands.

How to outsource your print

Companies that offer a cost effective solution for your business needs are the companies you should be listening to because they provide expert advice.

The sales process began in 2008 with an informal meeting with the Finance Director; the key influencer and decision maker.

The company were already engaged in an outsource relationship for the printing of their billing and debt collection letters.

In spite of a very informative discussion we were unable to woo them with our offering.

The incumbent supplier we were advised were doing a satisfactory job but the FD insisted we stay in contact.

Note the word satisfactory. The following three years met with quarterly telephone updates, emails and general newsletters on Digital Print Management’s services and consultancy at the behest of the Company.

Then bingo, we were invited back again for a preliminary discussion.

We met this time with the Credit Manager (we had been referred by the FD) who was very open about the current relationship with their print partner.

Things were not good to say the least.

Co-incidentally, their print partner was a large UK based print management company. Information was forthcoming and we knew what the specifications and  requirements of the applications were and more importantly, what they were looking for in a working partnership.

A proposal was requested and dutifully submitted and received with gasps of ohh and aahhh as we showed savings in excess of £15,000 factoring in postage, paperless billing and processing costs.

The proposal was based on margins in keeping with our philosophy a fair price without de-valuing our service offering, skill and expertise.

A follow up meeting took place which was favourable with all the buying signs evident. We tested their buying signals to ensure they were keen to progress and a formal written request for us to proceed was issued and a live implementation date agreed at the end of the meeting.

There were calls to action and the prospective customer appeared to be content and confident with advancing the project.

And then SILENCE!

The silence was deafening!

Frustration at the short-sightedness of companies limited outlook!

We duly followed up our actions, with their call to actions, no response. We emailed again, no response, we called, guess what, no response.

I know that when a company wants to change vendors this can be fraught with many variables and we had said that if at any stage a well meaning person should question the decision taken that they should take one of our very special DPM sweets.

And if that didn’t work to alleviate any concerns then to telephone directly.

Because we all know what happens after you make that buying decision it’s called buyers remorse. The one that says I know it makes sense and I’ve made the right choice but then someone comes a long and happens to say oohh is it the right time to be changing suppliers now? Or words to that effect.

One seemingly throwaway comment suddenly propels a buyer into panic mode questioning the decision he/she has made.

Irrespective of how well the service provider has absolutely done the best job and closed ‘that sale’.

The success in changing the vendor is determined by the longevity of the current relationship.

How was the supplier relationship founded i.e does the MD happen to be socially connected with the MD of the print company?

Who else in the company does business with the print vendor?

The inertia to change has to be there and in this case was all too evident!

As far as Digital Print Management was concerned it clearly was a bench-marking exercise and was a poor way of the prospective customer fleecing us of information of our services and solutions.

They probably went back to their current vendor and no doubt bartered for more discount.

And then I stumbled upon an article which said that buyers are not interested in developing connections or relationships for the long term they prefer to connect and disconnect as their requirements change or, as needs arise.

I consider this to be a very transient relationship bourne out of a short-term need rather than a long-term productive relationship.

It is a fleeting transaction between that of the buyer and that of the vendor providing the service/commodity.

Depending on the size of the purchase will dictate the duration of the buying process.

To quickly illustrate buying a pair of shoes is not like buying a house, the former taking minutes and the latter being a long drawn out process requiring trust on the part of the estate agent and solicitor!

Surely any business relationship can prosper if both parties are keen to work together to reach a fulfilling and satisfactory result in which both parties benefit but this can only be achieved over a period of time, right?

Was it the fact that it was just too much hassle to move supplier? Is it the fear factor i.e. better the devil we know which far outweighs the need to change? Or is it quite simply that business relationships are formed only when the need arises.

Is customer loyalty outdated?

After all I am sure you’ve experienced speaking with a contact one week only to find the following week they’ve moved jobs!

What do you think? Do you have any similar experiences to share? Do you agree that buyers see suppliers as “loose connections” there only to satisfy an immediate requirement?

Please feel free to leave a comment and share your experiences!

Please follow us on twitter and facebook, connect with us on linkedin and google+. You can also see what we get up to on pinterest.

 

 

Why UK airlines fail so miserably at customer service?

woman tearing hair out

and COMMUNICATION defined as the imparting of information or news!

My family and I have just spent almost two and a half hours on the runway at Malaga Airport; having been re-routed from Gibraltar due to low cloud cover. I felt compelled to write this on the plane to fill in time and as I was observing the goings on of the trained stewards and stewardesses struggling to manage a fractious, hot and increasingly angry bunch of passengers.

One of those unforeseen situations I suppose; completely out of your control and and in lieu of the fact that the Rock of Gibralter ominously stares out to the sea and is one of the top ten most difficult destinations to land a plane; I for one am quite happy to be re-routed but here’s the sticking point.

Prior to landing at Malaga we were advised by the Captain of the aircraft that we would have to wait at the most thirty minutes on the runway ready for a quick departure as it was likely the cloud would disperse enabling us to land in Gibraltar.

Meanwhile; one hot and it has to be said, over-weight and harassed air steward; understandably, given the situation was becoming more and more fraught as he tried to placate the growing number of irritated customers.

It became rather apparent there was no protocol for the provisions of food and water in such circumstances.

OK, water, yes but not bottled which is by far the safest and more desirable method of distribution.

But what really makes me mad is the blatant lack of communication from any party!

We were advised further that the wait was to continue as the weather still hadn’t cleared. Co-incidentally this waiting went from thirty minutes to just over two and a half hours standing on the runway, no air conditioning just the two plane doors open, no access to the outside other than standing next to the doors, get the picture, any moment I envisaged a mass exodus down the stairway!

Why oh why couldn’t one of the stewardesses talk to the pilots to see if there was an update on the situation? I’d have settled for a regular update over the plane’s intercom even it was just to say sorry guys still waiting no progress yet!

A polite update and some visible attempt at communication would have been appreciated given the circumstances.

Why is it in the UK we are inherently poor at offering up good customer service and I consider communication to be an intrinsic part of that process.

Surely communication is paramount particularly given the situation we found ourselves in?

I have one absolute condition in my relationships with customers, employees and suppliers alike and that is communication good news, bad news, updates are all vital to the relationship you have with your client or in this case passengers.

A case in point was a meeting I had recently with one of our key print suppliers and a long standing customer.

Our customer had been experiencing some issues with some of the processes that had been implemented at the commencement of the service. For some reason, a handful of customers weren’t receiving their weekly statements and even this proved to be an an intermittent problem. It transpired, following a detailed investigation, the records of the customers were never included in the actual data files sent over by the customer despite providing detailed reconciliation reports prior to print and despatch of the documents back to our customer for checking.

But my point is this; we didn’t see it as “their problem” it was “our problem” we resolved it together we went through the protocols, enhanced and improved one or two areas changed the naming of some of the default files for better clarification and moved on.

The customer is happy and secure in the knowledge that we have his best interests at heart and moreover he’s delighted that we give good customer service at all times and always communicate keeping the customer updated on requests, changes and day to day issues. By working with the customer we demonstrated our commitment to helping them resolve the problems therefore increasing our creditability and ensuring that they feel that they have been taken care of.

I should mention that we finally landed in Gibraltar, made our way into Spain and arrived at our destination some seven hours late!

The moral of my sorry tale: Monarch Airlines communicate with your passengers update them frequently when faced with predicaments such as inclement weather and please, please have a protocol that enables the supply of snacks and drinks if you have passengers having to endure a long wait!

Are you getting the best print and mailing services?

1. When was the last time you reviewed the service you get from your print supplier?

At the very least you should be visited by your print services provider every 6 months. This will ensure you are kept up to date with latest innovations, products and services.

2. How proactive is your print provider in suggesting alternate solutions to ensure you get the best option for all your printing needs?

3. What accreditations do they have for example ISO 9001; (quality) ISO 27001 (Information Security & Management)

4. Is the company customer focused? They provide solutions for you and not what suits them?

5. Can they be flexible and respond quickly and systematically to a change in specification or delivery dates?

6. Does the mailing house provide free data cleansing and checking to ensure your addresses are complete and suitable for mailing discounts?

7. Do you have a dedicated project or account manager who understands your business and requirements?

8. Is the print supplier financially stable, how long have they been in business and what customers do they supply?

9. Do you feel that when you pick up the phone to the company you get a personal service and that your print supplier is really listening? Are they quick to respond to your needs?

10. Finally when things go wrong, after all, we are only human, how quickly does your print supplier put right what went wrong irrespective of where the blame lies?

If the answer is a resounding “NO” to any of the above then it is time to review your print supplier. Jot down a list of things that you aren’t happy with and phone us! for an impartial discussion.

Follow us on twitter to keep up to date with our news, reviews and features!

3 Ways to Reduce Postage Costs

Postage

If you still mail out letters and bills there are some options that will save time and money

Businesses rely heavily on the Royal Mail in spite of the internet and the availability of sending documents electronically.

The UK Royal Mail increased their charges from April 2013 and businesses who use a multi-distribution method for delivery of their customer letters such as post and electronic delivery will no doubt have felt the impact of the postage costs on their bottom-line.

Despite the increase and depending on what volumes you mail out in a month there are 3 ways that can help you reduce the expenditure.

Using a print and mailing service provider offers a number of tangible benefits that will save you time and money. You can read more about how the service works here.

Use DSA (downstream access)

DSA is the term used to describe mail which has been collected and distributed by a competitor of the Royal Mail but is delivered into the Royal Mail centres for final processing in to local offices.

The cost savings per envelope depending on weight can be substantial and savings can be up to 13p per envelope using 2nd class mail. (Price will vary subject to weight)

Good Database Management

By ensuring that your data is current and reliable removes the issue of duplication.

Many companies over look the importance of recording their customers address and contact details and this results in duplicated addresses and most likely duplicated invoices arriving on the customers door step.

Maintaing your billing database (clicking on the link here will explain why data cleansing is important for your business) on a regular basis shows best practice and will save time and money and it doesn’t have to be a costly exercise.

A print and mailing service provider can check for errors and duplications using de-duping software.

envelopes

Address Inaccuracies

Sending invoices or statements to an incorrect address or defunct address can be costly!

Not only does the invoice go unpaid but the invoice then has to be re-printed and mailed out again effectively doubling your postage charge and increasing the processing and print time.

Incomplete addresses result in items being undelivered unless there is a return address on the envelope which will ensure the item is forwarded to the originator of the envelope.

But incorrectly or incomplete addresses means that the invoices have to be painstakingly checked and re-issued correctly. This takes up valuable company resources and slows cash collection too.

If you are faced with the challenge of getting your documents out on time there is an alternative solution called hybrid mail. If you click here you can find out more about what the service can do to speed up the mailing out process.

If you call Digital Print Management on 01234-271156 and ask for Caroline or drop us your email address here one of expert advisors will talk it through with you. What best suits your needs when it comes to mailing out your documents.

6 ways to reduce your invoice printing costs

Invoice processing and printing

Even if you still need to send out paper-based invoices there are still some things you can do to save money and reduce time when it comes to your invoice printing.

Aside from the physical printing of your invoices, there are other ancillary costs that are associated with the invoice printing process such as the toner, other consumables, paper, time taken by staff and the cost of postage. E-billing is slowly replacing the paper-based bill but even if you are in the throes of making that conversion not all of your customers will be willing to comply with receiving your e-bill.

I am assuming that you are not sending an email with a .pdf bill attached that is not e-billing, that is sending a .pdf as an attachment.

Here is a quick overview of how to save money when you print and process your customer invoices.

1. Batch invoices for one company into a single envelope

It’s surprising the number of organisations that send out single invoices for each transaction rather than consolidating customers invoices into one envelope. This in itself can give you greater reductions in postage costs. Moreover, the customer won’t thank you if they receive 10 envelopes when one will do.

If this is a manual process then unfortunately it will take time to ensure that your customer invoices are matched and inserted into the envelope. You can automate the entire process by outsourcing the print and mailing process altogether. Click here to find out how.

2. Change the size of the envelope you use for posting out your documents

This seems obvious but surprisingly many companies use a standard DL size envelope and end up having to send out 3-4 envelopes to the same customer. This can cause another issue when the customer receives envelope 3 but envelopes 1 and 2 arrive later due to the inconsistent delivery of the Royal Mail.

Changing from a DL size envelope to a C5 (this is half the size of an A4 sheet of paper) will enable you to insert at least 15 A4 folded sheets comfortably. The importance here is making sure that you match the right documents for the same customer into the envelope as discussed above.

3. Postage discounts are available from the Royal Mail and via DSA (downstream access)

If you can pre-sort your mail internally and according to the mail providers criteria postage discounts could be anything from between 10% – 40% per envelope which represents a big saving on the bottom line. If you outsource the process then it’s possible to gain greater discounts using Downstream Access.

DSA is mail that has been collected and distributed by a competitor but is delivered to Royal Mail mail centres for final processing onto local delivery offices ready for delivery.

4. Invalid or incorrect addresses 

Invoice printing

Invoice printing

A sure-fire way to end up having a steady flow of undeliverable invoices is having incomplete or incorrect address details. An accounts system that is regularly maintained and administered will reduce the number of returned or undelivered envelopes. Additionally, an incomplete address will not qualify for pre-sortation discounts.

Make sure that your envelopes have a return address on the flap so that the Royal Mail can forward those items that weren’t delivered back to you.

5. Encourage the uptake of an electronic bill instead of a paper version

More and more companies are making it easier for their customers to sign up for e-billing. It is one of the single most effective ways of reducing costs and administration associated with print and mailing of invoices and statements!

6.White Space Management

Often overlooked but in simple terms use your paper invoice to highlight company news, offer discounts, promote a new product or service using the white space to print targeted marketing messages is cheap advertising, after all, you’re printing the invoice use up the white space and be specific.

Even if it’s telling your customers to find you on social media it’s a great way to remind your customers that aside from paying your bill you also provide other services.

If you want to target a particular audience with a personalised message; you’ve already paid for the paper, the envelope and the postage why not use the invoice and personalise it with relevant marketing messages.

Mailing solutions

Invoice printing can easily be outsourced and there are a number of mailing solutions including print-2-mail

All of the above takes time, costs money and is fairly labour intensive automating the process is a consideration and the days of cost benefits associated with high volume billing runs are long gone.

Even if you send out a few hundred bills a month there are some cost advantages to be had.

If you want to discuss some or any of the above please call us and we will advise you as to the best solution to suit your budget and your business needs.

Follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn and like us on Facebook

8 Tips to consider when outsourcing billing

Outsourcing

Outsourcing a business process is a viable and cost effective proposition for many businesses.

When you decide to outsource a business function such as outsourcing billing the risk can be minimised by ensuring you select the right partner.

I use this term because it has to be a relationship, one that works two ways, it’s not an association;  or “just the company we happen to use to do our billing, payrollprint function you are outsourcing it has to be a relationship designed to aid your business which translates onto your bottom line.

Your check list should include the following:

Outsourcing

Deciding which business process should be outsourced is defined by what has become a bottle-neck in your company.

What process/processes are you considering outsourcing? – outsourcing billing, payroll, HR?

What selection process/mechanism are you going to use to find such a company?

Who is going to be responsible for managing the task of selecting the provider?

What criteria of selection should be used to disseminate the good from the bad?

Please don’t make this solely size of turnover or accreditation driven; there are just as many small and large companies doing just a good and bad job of providing services to the end user. If, after an initial discussion a potential supplier can satisfactorily demonstrate in-house quality, policy and procedures that are integral to you and your requirement then don’t rule them out of the picture!

How do I evaluate the service provisions on offer?

I would recommend you think about what credentials the supplier has i.e. years of expertise, references and case studies of projects undertaken. More importantly a genuine gut feel of the person(s) and the company you are talking too!

What are you asking the incumbent supplier to do/provide service wise?

What will my decision making criteria be based upon?

I urge caution here as a decision should never be price driven in our experience this has always been to the detriment of the company seeking to outsource and you will end up by shooting yourself in the foot. Partnering with a company who does it “cheaply” implies that they don’t  have the infrastructure to follow through which means they won’t or can’t deliver what you really want or have asked for!

When is a good deal EVER A GOOD DEAL?

When is a good deal ever a good deal? The cheapest price should never be your main criteria for selection.

When is a good deal ever a good deal? The cheapest price should never be your main criteria for selection.

Has a budget been set for the process OR what cost savings are you looking to achieve?

What timescales are you looking at to implement the project?

Right from the outset you must be clear that once a decision has been taken to outsource you determine a live start up date otherwise the time you spend investing in moving the project forward is worthless and the supplier feels frustrated as they have also invested time and goodwill in assisting with the outsourcing process!

What are your next steps?

Digital Print Management aim to provide an independent outsourcing services for electronic & paper billing, payroll, cheques and secure print management.

We are on facebook, twitter, linkedin, google+ and pinterest. Please do connect with to keep up to date with our news and blogs.

For a free discussion click here or drop us a note here:

[gravityform id=”1″ name=”Contact Us”]

 

How print management saves time and money.

20 pund note

A managed outsource printing service = savings for your business

Easy really, the majority of businesses don’t have a clue how much they actually spend on corporate print such as letter-headings, invoices, paper, consumables in fact, anything print related. This is because there is no methodology to managing the process from purchasing, stocking and re-ordering.

A print management company can provide a fully automated and customised print management service which will help measure and control your printing costs.

The first step in the process is understanding how much your current spend is on print this is achieved by carrying out a print audit of the various documents used by the business.

A print management company seeks to understand why and how documents are used, what the order cycle is and whom the suppliers are? From the information gleaned determines the total print spend!

A project manager oversees the whole process from start to finish culminating in a proposal detailing current print costs V cost savings on the various print items ordered.

Emphasis will be to demonstrate cost savings through efficiency driven processes.

Each quarter, a review of the usage of the various items is undertaken to see where further cost savings can be made. Managing your company print, usage and spend should be an on-going process of analysis and review.

Managed Print Services is at the other end of the spectrum to print management and enables companies to manage the flow of print in an organisation.

Equitrac print management allows you to automatically control and manage how print flows through your organisation – improving productivity and maximising time.

Using print management software organisations are able to set up automated print controls and rules to optimise the way print moves around the company.  Employees can be denied printing certain applications such as email by automatically routing jobs to the most cost-effective printer for that task.

For example a solid ink colour device is more cost effective to print obligatory emails and letters rather than a colour-cartridge-guzzling desktop printer for colour runs, colour print can be prevented altogether unless user authorised.

Industry analysts estimate that 44% of printing is unnecessary

  • People are printing things more than once which is wasting huge amounts of money
  • They may send a document to print, then notice an error on screen
  • A document is not at the printer when they go to retrieve it
  • The toner is low or there is a paper jam

This results in wasted paper, consumables and larger electricity bills. Print management software enable a more efficient, leaner and greener print environment.

What do you think? Have you implemented one or both solutions? How have they worked for you? Please do share your success or disaster stories.

To learn more about how you can regain control of your office printing costs, contact us today.

Please do follow us on twitter and facebook, connect with us on linkedin and google+

 

ipad V Husband

Here’s the thing it’s a little after 8:15PM and I am breaking with convention. I’ve been posting articles about print outsourcing you see and I have converted my beloved to the charms of twitter, facebook and linkedin. (Work in progress)

Its been a gradual process updating my husband with the ingenues of social media and I have got use to the tongue in cheek comments like “so when’s the next big deal going to happen”, or what’s it really all about”; to comments like “don’t you have anything better to do”, “all you seem to do is twitter (now my personal favourite) facebook or linkedin.

Of course all this has been quietly solicted by my business coaches who have empowered me to embrace the importance of getting into social media and personal branding for our business.

Don’t misunderstand me, I am aware it exists; its here and its happening and if you aren’t doing it now then within five years its quite likely you won’t exist at all!

Online marketing and social media can be bewildering especially when you start out on the quest for “likes”, “links” and “connections” but it becomes so compelling and addictive, enough to make you want to run screaming out of the office shouting hey, what’s wrong with the old way of doing business. But that’s the point, it’s the old way.

This is not an advert for the aforementioned product, don’t think they need any help with their SEO; nor am I getting paid by that well known “bite” unfortunately!!

But because the quest for online presence and social media is so instant and so beguiling; it reels you in with articles of interest and ambiguity, headlines which are fun and misleading; it tempts you to keep on reading; hell, you don’t need a good thriller to read, it’s all there on social media; which brings me back to my new love affair with my best friend beginning with a small “i”.

You see I find myself reaching for it as soon as I open my eyes in the morning; its the last thing I now say good night to; and recently, I woke up unable to get back to sleep, I was at it again at 3am in the morning. I sneak to the W.C. with it instead of a magazine; it’s in the kitchen craftily hidden behind my recipe book as I pretend to read whilst really checking to see what’s going on in the world; so you see, I’ve got it bad, I’m bitten by the SM bug; that’s SOCIAL MEDIA by the way not some other well known acronym!

Recently on my own facebook page I updated my status as follows” you can turn off your ipad but you can’t switch off your husband” too true but until such times as Mssrs Jobs invents an on/off switch for husbands’ my ipad is staying well and truly on!!

 

 

How a managed print service reduces print and paper costs

How a managed print service reduces print and paper costs.

How managed print service reduces print and paper costs

Managed print services allows user authentication,reduces print/copy costs and reduces paper waste.

Installing a managed print service solution offers substantial cost savings by re-routing and managing the amount of paper and printing processed in your office.

One of the frustrating challenges for organisations is reducing the volume of print and paper processing.

The management of paper, print and print devices cost money but often overlooked because they are seen as essential for modern-day offices and not perceived as a true cost reflected on the bottom line.

Recycling paper, implementing a duplex print strategy (printing both sides) or using recycled paper as part of a company’s drive to go green won’t save a company money in the long term.

Dispensing with mountains of paper often secure or confidential information requires the services of a secure disposal company but that all adds to the costs of managing your paper flow.

Many companies believe that office print is necessary and stockpile paper, re-print if there is an error on the printer or PC without any consideration for the environment or the cost implications to the company.

When an organisation analyses when, where and how often paper is used and what the re-ordering frequency is, do the printing costs then become visible?

Implementing a managed print service strategy does help reduce print costs, removes unwanted printing and enforces print rules such as using black rather than colour or simplex/duplex printing.

Companies are overburdened with many print devices – desktop printers, scanners, photocopiers with employees territorial and protective of their printers.

Cost reductions are achievable with a reduction of 3:1 by implementing modern MPS (managed print services) and MFPD’s (multi-functional print devices).

Include sizeable reductions in consumables used across an organisation and the cost savings are evident.

With a mobile workforce, employees want to be able to print anytime and anywhere.

One critical issue that halts the adoption of MPS is security.

Securely printed information runs the risk of being visible to prying eyes without MPS implementation and the management of how and when printed documents are managed in the paper flow is critical.

How a managed print service reduces print and paper costs

Secure print tracking software eliminates confidential information being left on the printer.

  • How do you prevent wasting paper prints?
  • How do you keep printer consumable costs down?
  • What happens to unclaimed documents?
  • How do you print off secure documents without a desktop printer?

By removing the need to rely on a single printer, users are able to divert their print jobs to the most cost-efficient printer and not have to worry about a device being out of service or having to wait for I.T. to resolve the problem.

Using secure print technology with user authentication ensures that the right device is selected, when it is printed and by whom as the print job can only be released when the user authenticates the print job at the device.

A secure document release application and secure print tracking software encourages user mobility, minimises paper waste and protects personal information and customer confidentiality.

Intelligent print rules and routing software removes the burden of the user to decide which printer is best for each job because when the user hits “print” a window pops into view advising the user which printer and what the cost is for the printing of the job.

Implementing an MPS solution will save you time and money in the long term and there are some easy to implement solutions that can be put in to practice without delay in addition to utilising a managed print services solution:

How a managed print service reduces print and paper costs

Managed print services reduce print costs, removes unwanted printing and enforces print rules

  1. Duplex (double-sided) printing get more out of each of the pages you print, print the odd pages first by setting your printer and then print the even pages thus reducing the number of sheets you use; particularly useful for when you want to print notes.
  2. Print using a smaller font/typeface – as long as you can read you will find more content will fit onto an A4 sheet.
  3. Check before you print – the print preview button ensures you see what you are printing. Changing the margins or scaling the document ensures you optimise the whole sheet for printing.
  4. Print only the pages you need – using the print preview button you only print the pages you want. In the print dialog box enter the page ranges required.
  5. You can adjust your page settings by reducing the header and footer and left/right margins enabling you to fit more content onto the page reducing the number of pages printed.
  6. Print multiple pages onto a single sheet of paper using font size 12 which tends to be the default setting, the document is still legible.

Finally, you can significantly reduce your print costs by working with a print management specialist who will evaluate your print requirements and understand your MPS requirements.

Subscribe to our newsletter for more features and news.