Meeting Your Printing Needs Without Breaking Your Business Budget

Meeting Your Printing Needs Without Breaking Your Business Budget

Printing is an essential activity for most businesses, but it can also cost a lot of money. If you regularly print off lots of documents in your office, the price of ink, energy and paper can be higher than you realise. Fortunately, there are many ways that you can cut down on your printing costs without too much difficulty, and here is a guide to some of the most effective techniques.

Reduce the Number of Printers in Your Office

One of the first things you may want to do is cut down on the number of printers in the office. If you have more printers than you need, consider getting rid of all but one if you can. This will not only save on energy costs, but it could even dissuade staff from using the printer unnecessarily.

When choosing a printer, think about whether you need a laser printer or whether an inkjet printer will do. Laser printers are more expensive, but they can save you money if you print a lot. Inkjet printers may be the cheaper option if you only need to print occasionally. If you need to print on clothing, Epson has a great garment printer.

Compare Prices on Your Ink

Another simple way to save money on your printing costs is to look for different places to buy your ink cartridges. If you always go to the same supplier, spend some time comparing prices at other suppliers to see if you can make some savings here. You may find that there are better deals for buying in bulk.

Buy Refilled Cartridges

Another option you may want to consider is to buy your cartridges refilled. Second-hand cartridges can save you a lot of money, and sometimes they are filled up with more ink than the new ones. The quality is often not as good as the original ink, but for rough printing in the office, this may not matter. Do remember however that it could affect the warranty of your printer, so be aware of this before deciding to buy refilled cartridges.

Change Font Type and Size

Some fonts use more ink than others when printed out onto paper, so you can often save some ink simply by choosing a more suitable font. Century Gothic is one of the most efficient fonts, so try to make it a habit to only use this for general printing. You can also save on both ink and paper by printing in a smaller font, especially for larger documents.

Reduce Paper Costs

You can cut the amount of paper you use by making it a habit to print on both sides of the sheets. You may be able to set this up automatically in your printer, or you may have to replace the paper. Either way, it can cut your paper costs significantly.

Alternatively, reuse your rough paper for printing. If you have a lot of paper that has only been used on one side, make a pile of this and keep it near to the printer so staff can use it when appropriate.

Go Paperless as Far as Possible

The paperless office may not be a reality yet, but there are many ways to use less paper at work. Encourage your employees to create PDFs and share them electronically rather than printing documents out, and you may find that you can significantly reduce the amount of paper you use.

Hire a Professional Printer for Marketing Material

When it comes to your professional print marketing, don’t try and print this yourself. Not only will it look less professional, but it may even work out as more expensive for large printing jobs. If you are going to be printing in Sydney, look for a printer that offers good prices and a high-quality service.

Create a Printing Policy

One of the best things you can do in your office is to create a printing policy for all members of staff. This could be something that you print out and place above the printer to remind everyone every time they go to print a document.

In this policy, you could encourage employees to only use the printer when it really is necessary, and suggest that they stick to digital PDFs wherever possible. You could also remind them to set the printer to the draft setting or at least black and white ink when a higher-quality of print is not needed. Also remind them not to print out emails unless absolutely necessary.

Start Saving on Your Printing Costs Today

There is no reason why you should be spending more than necessary on your printing costs. If you feel that you are spending too much on ink, paper and energy, consider a review of your office printing. Try to implement some of the ideas above to cut your costs and you could find that you can make significant savings over the coming months.

Jimmy Liem is the owner of Print Rite Australia. He created a one stop printing service based in Marrickvile. However he serves all small, medium and large enterprise to fulfil their across Sydney. Jimmy likes to deal personally with his clients to make sure that the best results are provided every single time for them. He also enjoys sharing his know-how online.