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Do you want your office to run smoothly and at peak productivity at all times? If so, reliable office copiers and printers are a must. But as valuable as these machines are, they can put quite a dent in your overall budget.

The dent in question often has little to do with the initial purchase price but rather the ongoing operational and maintenance expenses. To avoid wasting precious resources on office copiers, you must first identify the source of these cost escalations. Then, you can implement some of the cost-saving measures outlined in this guide.

What to Do Before Implementing Cost-Saving Measures for Office Copiers

Sure, you can jump straight to implementing cost-saving measures for your office copiers and hoping for the best results. But the truth is these measures can only be truly effective when you’ve laid the groundwork properly. During this process, the most crucial step is assessing your current copier setup and identifying the areas that need improvement.

Let’s say your initial assessment finds that your employees often copy documents in color, even though color plays no role in the document’s content or purpose. If this is the case, the first cost-cutting measure you introduce can be implementing a clear color-copying policy. This is the only way to see immediate results and set the stage for broader cost-cutting efforts.

So, before enforcing any measures, assess every aspect related to office copiers, from the cost of consumables to the energy efficiency of each model. This targeted approach ensures that cost-saving measures are not only effective but also well-received by your employees, fostering a culture of responsible resource use.

5 Ways to Reduce Costs of Office Copiers

Different copying issues call for different cost-saving strategies. Still, the most common pitfalls in this regard can be avoided by the following approaches.

1. Choose the Right Copier Model

The good news is that there are tons of office copiers from which to choose. The bad news is that the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming, leading you to purchase inadequate machines for your business.

Go for a decked-out copier that exceeds your office needs, and you’ll waste money initially and continue to overspend on maintenance and consumables. Choose an underperforming copier, and you’ll face high repair costs before you know it, as this machine simply can’t keep up with your office demands.

To avoid both of these scenarios, you need to do two things – research your choices thoroughly and carefully assess your office’s copying requirements (e.g., daily print volume and the number of people using the machine). Afterward, you should have no trouble getting your business the right copier(s).

2. Use Color Cautiously

A color toner is substantially more expensive than a basic black one. This, in turn, makes color copies quite costly. Of course, there are instances when these copies are necessary (e.g., informative graphs for financial reports or marketing materials). In all other scenarios, however, black-and-white copies will do just fine. Even charts and graphs can be designed to look eye-catching in grayscale.

If your office has no need for color documents, consider purchasing black-and-white office copiers from the get-go. This will ensure color isn’t used, even by accident. If you happen to need a color document occasionally, you can always outsource this task to a local print shop.

3. Set Clear Guidelines

The high costs of operating office copiers don’t always have to do with the machines themselves. Often, it’s how these machines are used that causes the issues. Employees will often copy documents in color, print entire files instead of individual documents, and use the copier for personal needs.

A few extra copies here and there won’t make much difference. Still, when such behaviors become commonplace, they can significantly inflate your office’s copying expenses. That’s why you must ensure everyone in the office is on the same page from the get-go.

Create clear and easy-to-understand policies on copier use and ensure every employee is familiar with them. Depending on your needs, these guidelines can differ from department to department. For instance, the billing department typically only needs black-and-white copies, and its guidelines can reflect that requirement. The marketing department, on the other hand, will probably need color, so it should be allotted a reasonable budget for color copying.

4. Maintain Office Copiers Regularly

Frequent copier breakdowns are as costly as they’re annoying. Even worse, they often happen at the most inconvenient times, causing a major productivity loss.

Now, there’s nothing you can do to guarantee office copiers won’t break down. After all, they are machines and subject to wear and tear and various other issues. However, implementing a regular maintenance schedule can drastically decrease the likelihood (and impact) of a copier breakdown.

Don’t wait for the machine to warn you about an issue, and if it does, don’t ignore the warning. Only by proactively maintaining your office copiers can you ensure they remain reliable and operational and, thus, avoid unexpected expenses.

5. Invest in Managed Services

If you don’t have time to implement individual measures or worry about their effectiveness, investing in managed services is the solution. This is an all-encompassing solution for cutting unnecessary costs, as professionals will manage the office copiers for you.

From choosing adequate and energy-efficient copiers (e.g., ENERGY STAR-certified machines) and ordering high-quality consumables at reduced cost to monitoring your copier use and regularly maintaining each machine, managed services cover every aspect of copier management that can cause unnecessary costs.

Combine managed print services with managed IT services, and you’ll be able to instantly resolve any copier issue, be it software or hardware-related.

Smart Copying – Smart Spending

As long as you use these machines cautiously, office copiers shouldn’t significantly impact your budget. If you have trouble with any of these measures, you can always turn to professionals. The experts at Stargel Office Solutions will be happy to help businesses in Houston navigate the challenges of copier management and cost control. Remember that smart copying leads to smart spending, so contact our team today to get started.