Costs of Printing: 4 Overlooked Ways Your Business Is Bleeding Money

Businesses should always know exactly where their money goes. Yet, two-thirds of small businesses can’t track printer costs.

This fact is especially worrisome given that it’s actually the third highest monthly expense for offices—right behind rent and payroll.

While all three are essential to operations, printing costs are one aspect that you can readily address.

A recent study showed  that “a firm with 1,000 employees is likely to incur $500,000 in printing costs per year, which can actually amount up to three to five percent of revenue.”

Identifying the hidden costs of printing can help you manage and address it head-on.

Here are four of the most overlooked ways printing is costing your business money:

Over Purchasing Printing Supplies Add Up Significantly To Operational Costs

Unless you actually understand your company’s definite printing needs, it’s very likely that you’re buying more equipment and supplies than required.

For instance, toner and printer ink, which are critical components of printing, can eventually add up in terms of cost.

Black printer ink can cost anywhere from $20 to $40 per cartridge, while colored ink can cost $25 to $50 per cartridge.

Given they are relatively small purchases, even when bought in bulk, it tends to get overlooked.

Often, spare cartridges get stocked in the supply closet and eventually become unusable as the company upgrades printer or copier models, or simply forgotten.

Interested in learning more about the costs of printing? Check out this free whitepaper on the hidden costs of printing!

Under Purchasing Printing Supplies Can Cost Employee Productivity

On the flip-side, is a company’s tendency to buy less than what the office requires.

The impact of running out of ink, toner, or paper may not seem so obvious to productivity.

However, for whatever reason that a printer breaks down, work can come to a standstill. Imagine the implications on the flow of operations when a whole department is unable to send out paperwork because there’s no ink available.

In addition, think of how it will affect cost when teams have to stop what they’re doing, purchase the necessary supplies, and have to pay full retail for printing supplies.

Unregulated Use Or Printing Supplies Cost Organizations Money

Despite policies that remind employees that office equipment should only be used for business purposes, lack of close regulation means people still tend to use it for personal reasons.

Therefore, you’re racking up additional costs for supplies, consumables, energy, and equipment maintenance that you shouldn’t even be paying for.

Constant Equipment Maintenance Is An Often Overlooked Expense

Like a lot of office equipment, printers need to be maintained so they can continue to function efficiently.

As you probably know first-hand, even with close equipment management, this isn’t always the case. Printers break down or run out of ink often, prompting employees to seek the help of their office IT team.

According to numerous studies, the average IT department spends a third of their time assisting employees with their printing needs, addressing issues that can range from software compatibility to network connectivity.

While it may be part of the job, it’s likely that this cost is overlooked.

Understanding your company’s actual printing costs and making a thorough assessment of your needs can lead to informed decisions on how to address them.

Start by conducting a physical audit of all your office printing equipment. Meet with team members to discuss their printing needs.

Thoroughly review invoices and other financial records to identify how much you spend on printing equipment and supplies.

You can even explore how much money your company can save by employing smarter, more cost-efficient printing solutions such as UniPrint Infinity.

Check out our UniPrint ROI calculator to get an idea of how much you can save on printing costs.