Printing saints and sinners - which departments print the most, how can organisations print less, save more?

By their very nature, some departments print more than others.

Research conducted by Ipsos on Lexmark's behalf found that logistics departments print the most pages of any organisational unit.

Our survey found that the usual number of pages printed per day by an employee stands at 32. However, staff working in logistics, including procurement, quality and supplier relations, said they printed up to 48 pages each day. That's 50% more than an average member of staff.

And, they are not the only heavy printers. Administrative and HR staff as well as finance and accounting employees were also found to print many more pages than their colleagues, on average 39 and 38 pages respectively.

Some departments are required to produce more paper documents for reporting, information sharing or legal reasons. So, it's not the large number of pages printed that's the problem here, it's the number of unnecessary printings.

Logistics staff admitted that almost one-fifth of the pages they produced every day weren't actually needed or had been printed by mistake. And they weren't alone in producing large numbers of wasted pages. Those working in IT confessed to printing a significant number of unwanted pages, on average nine per day, followed by general management and HR with eight pages each.

It is the unnecessary or useless printings that are leading to waste. It is time organisations became more aware of the financial and environmental impact of printing. By understanding this, they can take steps to have a more efficient approach, not only saving time and money but also reducing their impact on the environment.

But, what steps can organisations take to reduce unnecessary printing?

In my opinion, a two-sided approach is required, 'bottom up, top down'.

Equipment can also help, such as introducing multifunction printers, which can print, scan, copy and fax. Such devices can be automatically set to produce double-sided outputs or black-and-white printing only. They can also encourage better workflow as staff can use the machines to scan documents, which can then be dispatched to a number of destinations, including e-mail, PC, network folders or electronic content management applications.

At a wider organisational level, companies should assess their overall print infrastructure, policies and practices to enable them to take a more efficient approach to printing across the entire business.

For example, reducing the number of printers on their premises or introducing user authentication practices such as smart cards or PIN numbers to access printers gives organisations far more control and encourages staff to think first, print later. Our research found that some companies are already looking at this, with 15% saying there had been a reduction in the number of printers on their premises, and one in 10 (11%) said user authentication practices such as smart cards or PIN numbers had been introduced.

Or, businesses can work with third parties for advice or even ask them to run their printing services operations. This can help to identify and analyse paper-intensive business processes so staff spend more time on business and less time with printers. And, it can enable businesses to optimise the print infrastructure through professional fleet management services, proactive supplies management and operational availability management from an expert.

Identifying the printing saints and printing sinners in an organisation is all very well, but the issue isn't just about volume, it's also about wastage. As I've outlined, there are plenty of steps an organisation can take to reduce paper wastage and ensure that staff print less to save more.