Expense associated with printing to most printers is one that very few companies track.

Employees typically have the liberty to order toner as needed and this results in paying top dollar at a box store like Staples or Office Max.  Many companies take the next step to buy their supplies through a discount office products vendor and save a few dollars.  Some have even tried the drill and fill toner to really save money and have quickly gone back to the OEM toner.   In most cases, companies have no idea how much they are really spending and when they find out, they are “unpleasantly” surprised.

Supplies are only one component associated to printing expense.  Service and the acquisition of the printers add to the cost.  Don’t forget the time IT has to spend trying to troubleshoot printer issues.  This is a significant soft cost that is rarely included into the printing expense.  IT personnel have spent 4-5 years in college to ensure they have the skills to maximize network performance, manage company software solutions and work on strategic initiatives to manage their companies' core business.  The last thing they want to do is to worry about a printer. 

There are significant cost savings that can be realized if a fleet is managed well.  Software is available to help to manage a fleet by communicating (via email) when a printer fails, is getting low on toner or needs a maintenance kit.  The software empowers a company to be proactive instead of reactive.  Average monthly volumes are provided to help manage the fleet allocation.  This information is typically used to help “rotate the tires” so printers are strategically placed to optimize performance and life of the equipment.There are hundreds of companies that provide non-OEM printer supplies but very few provide a good product.  However, there are a couple of companies that spend millions of dollars on research to ensure they produce parts and supply products that are, as good or better, than those produced by the original manufacturer.  Using these products can save significant dollars.

Given the state of today’s economy, most companies are looking for areas to cut costs and improve productivity.  Fisher’s has a print management team with years of experience helping companies identify their printing costs, pinpoint  areas where improvement is needed and implementing a strategy to contain printing costs.  Fisher’s has helped companies save 20-40% on printing expense and eliminated the headache of managing a fleet of printers from IT.