How to Save on Business Printing Costs

How to Save on Business Printing Costs

Printing is a necessity for any small business; one that can also prove to be quite an expensive one in the long term. If your business is looking to cut down on costs and you routinely make use of a printer, then there is no better place to start than making some adjustments to the way you print.

Curious as to why you should take a look at your current printer setup if you want to start making some financial savings? Well, it’s no secret that consumables such as ink aren’t the cheapest of substances, and when a business makes use of ink on a regular basis, the costs can tally up to a hefty amount.

This is something that any cost-savvy business will want to limit as much as possible, which is why we’ve come up with a couple of suggestions that are guaranteed to optimise your business’s printing to have as minimal impact on your finances as possible.

New Printers

 

Putting off buying a new printer may seem like a smart way to reduce costs at a first glance. A decent printer can set you back a considerable amount of cash upfront, whereas your current printer works fine and does just as good a job, right?

Newer models have the significant advantage of having features such as power saving modes and automatic double-sided printing, both of which can be used to keep costs down. Another added benefit of replacing your old printer with a newer model is that most modern printers are significantly more cost-effective when it comes to cost-per-page.

Checking the cost-per-page is a worthwhile practice to get into when looking for a new printer, as comparing the running costs between models can give you a good idea as to which printer has the most to offer, with the least amount of additional expenses in the long run.

Inkjet or Laser Printer?

 

When deciding on a new model, another decision you will have to consider is whether an inkjet or laser printer would be best suited to what your business needs. Knowing beforehand what you intend to use your printer for will help significantly in choosing the right kind, as both inkjet and laser printers have environments in which they are best suited for.

Inkjet printers can be a good choice for home users, especially for those who don’t print in high volumes. These models are also a great choice for both amateur and professional photographers, as they can produce good quality images.

However, inkjet printers tend to work through consumables fairly quickly, meaning that your business could be at risk of a higher ink bill than expected.

Laser printers, on the other hand, are great for businesses that are looking to print in large quantities, and expect high-quality printing for a low cost. Toner cartridges on average have a page yield of over 1400 pages, which often proves to be a better long-term investment than ink cartridges despite their pricier upfront costs.

If your business is looking for the best of both worlds, however, an all-in-one printer might just be your best option. The great thing about these multi-purpose devices is that they can provide great CPP (cost-per-page) values alongside saving you precious office space by including copier and scanning capabilities.

It’s best to take your printing habits into consideration before settling on a particular model. After all, each printer offers its own strengths and can be cost-efficient in its own way, it’s just a matter of finding one that suits you and your business’s method of printing.

Checking Your Print Settings

 

Once you’re happy with your printer, there are additional actions you can take to further increase savings on printing costs, all of which are achieved by simply configuring your printer’s settings.

For instance, if you’re not going to be printing in color all that often, then it would be a good idea to conserve your ink or toner for when it is needed, and set your default print settings to black/white if you’re primarily printing text-based documents.

Another suggestion would be to set your printer to draft mode. Normally, your printer is set to pass the cartridge over the same area multiple times whereas in draft mode, the cartridge only makes a single pass.

The consequence of this outcome is that your print will not be as bold compared to the default settings. However, if you’re only printing documents for personal use, and the print is legible, then you can save on consumables and money in the long run by sacrificing a little bit of boldness in your print.

Changing the style of your font is another option if you’re looking to cut down on printing costs. Some fonts can be quite aggressive in their consumption of ink, which is why you would be better off avoiding anything too fancy if you can help it. Stick with one of the default fonts and your consumables are likely to last a little bit longer.

The size of your font can also determine the overall cost of a print job, as a larger size font is consequently going to require more ink and paper to produce. A good habit to get into is reviewing print preview before you print, and check if your font is still legible by reducing the size by one or two numbers for maximum benefit in terms of cost.

If you would like to learn more on how to reduce printing costs for your businesses, feel free to visit Printerland.co.uk and get in contact with one of our printing experts, who will be more than happy to help determine how your business can cut down on printing costs.