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Most organizations underestimate the total cost of print production by as much as 50%. According to a recent Gartner Group study, organizations can spend as much as 3% of their total annual revenue on document output. Very often, those organizations will find that the majority of the output is from laser printers. Those costs range from toner and parts to service labor and network management. The real challenge is that most organizations do not understand how to measure or manage these costs. Without measurable controls in place to control these costs, positively affecting the bottom line is nearly impossible.

Managed print services, often referred to as print management or MPS, is a service that provides organizations with cost containment tools and strategies for print output. Gary Halperin, former CFO for IKON Office Solutions and Print, Inc. points out that, “MPS is a method for a customer to have their entire environment surrounding the management of output devices handled by one vendor [usually] under one agreement.” Managed print services provide certain service components for the end-user. Halperin continues by saying that end-users benefit by “right sizing their fleet of print devices in the right environments including networking, parts, service and all consumables.”

The primary driver for MPS is the reduction in the overall total cost of the pages being produced. This reduction in cost comes from areas such as consumables and maintenance costs, but can also come from reduction in wasted prints and labor.

One of the most costly problems with an organization’s print production environment is that most organizations have not standardized. Organizations will have different printers for different departments. Some managers or employees will have a personal printer. The struggle for an organization’s support staff is to keep up to speed with the software and hardware requirements for each device. Moreover, organizations are required to maintain inventory of toner and supplies for multiple printer types. Some of these print devices can cost as much as $.07 per black and white print and as much as $.75 per color print.

Managed print services provide key benefits to the end-user by allowing a professional organization to manage the devices, consumables and maintenance. Usually, the end-user pays one small per print cost rather than worrying about purchasing equipment, supplies and maintenance separately.

If you are in the market for a printer, you know that there are so many options out there. There are various sizes, speeds, resolutions, shapes, colors… (list continues forever). With all of these options, what do you need to focus on to make sure you get the right printer for you? All you need is a machine that will spit out the documents on your computer and make them look pretty good. Well here are three important features to consider when concerning the quality of the documents you need to produce.

Monthly Duty Cycle: This number indicates how durable the printer is and how much print volume it can handle in a given month. A lower volume printer like the one you use in your home probably won't even have a monthly duty cycle number so if your print volume is very low, then don't even worry about it. Otherwise, when looking at the numbers, know that the monthly duty cycle number is often about 6-8 times what you should realistically expect the printer to be capable of printing in a month.

Print Resolution: A printer's resolution is slowly becoming less important as manufacturers have been able to alter dot size and shape to improve image quality without actually improving the resolution. The most common is 600 X 600 dpi (dots per inch) so generally if you need higher quality prints for something like marketing materials, consider a machine with a higher print resolution than average.

Scan Resolution: Just like print resolution, scan resolution is important for the quality of the materials you are scanning and using thereafter. The typical scanner is 300dpi so if you need high quality scanning and printing functions, you will need to consider these options. A higher scan resolution will allow you to transmit and print your materials with higher quality.

Keeping track of these three specs will help you to stay on top of your print and document quality. Keep an eye out for more posts concerning printing specs as they make a significant difference in your purchasing decision. The biggest thing to keep in mind, is to determine the specific tasks you need the printer to perform, and make sure that matches with the machines you are considering.

With the continuous advancement in print technology, phones and electronic capabilities in general, we are now able to do a lot more on the go. We used to only have internet at the office, now all we have to do is reach into our pockets to check email, or send reports. Printer drivers used to be a nightmare of options and settings. Now, drivers have standards and are generally pretty easy to install and use.

Overall, technology is becoming more advanced while becoming easier to use. This trend is also helping technologies merge to allow for new possibilities. One relatively new development is the ability to print from iPads and iPhones, and other smartphones soon to follow. The feature is called Air Print and is only supported on select printers and brands. While more and more models and brands are becoming compatible, there is an alternative method as well.

A small device called the Lantronix XPrintServer plugs in to the wall and can connect with your Ethernet network. This little beauty implements the Common Unix Printing System which scans the network to find the printers with compatible printing protocols. The tiny device handles all the translation issues for PDFs, text documents and more. Within minutes of plugging in this little device, you will be able to print on all the compatible printing devices within your network from an iPad or iPhone.

With all of this technology at our fingers, we now have the power to access information, documents and print it all from our smart phones. No longer are we required to come into the office to print some things off or finish sending those emails, we can do them on the go. Whether or not this is something you want to do, I'll let you decide that.

Automated Document Capture and Routing is quickly becoming one of the most utilized forms of document management, giving your business the ability to create and maintain an accurate, easily searchable digital archive. The benefits of a digital archive are extensive, and will give your business a leg up on the competition when it comes to cost reduction, improved productivity and the ability to facilitate improved collaboration between employees, whether they are in the same office or across the globe.

Automating the capture and routing of documents in your business is simple, and can be easily implemented utilizing your current Multifunction technology. Multifunction printers when networked with your digital archive allow you to scan and index documents with ease, giving employees simultaneous access to important documents. You can even set permissions and password protect your confidential files, granting access only to those who are approved to view and edit.

The Key benefits of Document Capture and Routing include:

• Enhance Employee Productivity, whether you are a small business or a large company.
• Increase the efficiency of your entire office, from front desk clerical work to high level employee strategy.
• Implement flexible routing options, including Networked folders, databases and direct email to archive routing.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you implement the perfect Document Routing and Capture program into your existing business today!