Is excess printing costing your business time and money? Unnecessary printing backs up your printer and slows down important jobs. It also increases paper usage, leading to higher printing costs. At WiZiX Technology Group, we help businesses optimize their office printing budget with affordable printing services and equipment. Continue reading to learn how to reduce printing in the office and streamline your productivity.
Why Should You Reduce Excess Printing?
Eliminating unnecessary printing not only reduces paper usage in the office—it also has many environmental benefits. Reducing paper waste minimizes your carbon footprint and streamlines your office operations. Less paper requires less storage space, so your office can have room for more employees or equipment. Limiting printing and paper usage also save money by reducing your ink and toner costs.
How to Reduce Printing in the Office
Authorize Printer Access
Authorizing printing activity not only secures your equipment, it also helps reduce excess printing. Requiring employees to enter their login information each time they use office equipment prevents unauthorized printing jobs.
Monitor Printer Usage
Monitoring who uses the printer and when they use it ensures that all printing jobs are business-related. If employees know their actions are monitored, they’ll be less likely to waste office resources by accessing equipment for personal use. Monitoring and verifying printing activity also improves office security and prevents leaks of sensitive information.
Create and Enforce a Print Policy
Communicating with your employees is extremely important. Employees can’t follow guidelines if they don’t know what they are. Create a print policy that details your office’s printing rules, share it with every employee, and make sure to enforce it. Your print policy should explain how to configure the printer for different document types. For example, a policy could require employees to always print on both sides of the paper and to only print specific documents in color.
Supply Employees with Dual Monitors
Investing in dual monitors for the office may be an expensive upfront cost, but it will save your business money in the long run. Dual monitors allow employees to see more information at once without having to print anything, reducing paper waste and printing costs. Giving employees dual monitors can also increase productivity by helping them work more efficiently.
Adjust Fonts and Margins
Maximizing the space on a document is a great way to reduce excess printing. Smaller fonts and margins allow for more words on a page and fewer sheets of paper. Including font and margin size parameters in your print policy will help employees use less paper for high-volume jobs.
Digitize Documents
Switching to an electronic document management system (DMS) eliminates the need to print as many documents. A DMS efficiently stores and organizes your documents digitally for easy retrieval and sharing of documents. You can also track, monitor, and authorize the use of documents for better security.
Upgrade Your Equipment
Obsolete equipment doesn’t have as many efficient features as the latest models do. If your office printer can’t monitor usage, authenticate access, or automate certain settings, it may be time for an upgrade. Choosing a multifunction printer can help reduce unnecessary printing because it combines the features of a printer, scanner, copier, and fax machine all in one device.
Document Management Systems for California Businesses
Now that you understand how to reduce printing in the office, it’s time to get started with a document management system. WiZiX Technology Group is an elite printer dealer with locations in Fresno, San Jose, and across Northern California. We’re also a proud reseller of DocuWare, a highly secure, easy-to-integrate electronic DMS for streamlining document organization. Call 866-846-1411 to speak with a representative today.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (11/15/2021). Photo by Richard Dykes on Unsplash