Reduce TCO with the appropriate printer selection

The process of selecting which business printer to purchase is often seen as an unimportant task in a market of almost unlimited choices. This belief is further supported by the proliferation of printers capable of fulfilling various functions, such as lasers offering colour and bulk mono printing as well as multifunctions.

Today companies are demanding more value for the money they spend on printers and consumables. The fact that a printer can fulfil a specific function does not mean it should be used in that capacity only.

"Companies with no budget restrictions or under no cost-cutting mandates do not need to put much thought into which printers they buy, as additional printers can always be added at a later date," says Neil Rom, MD of Printacom, local Oki distributor. "For the rest of us, selecting the right printer for the right job is a business necessity as the wrong selection can become a costly mistake.

"Before buying a printer, the purchaser should determine its probable workload, the number of users, quality, black and white vs colour printing needs, paper sizes and if multi-part stationery is required," explains Rom. "This will accurately indicate what type of printer is needed or if two separate systems are needed for different tasks."

Of course, when considering the printing needs of a large organisation, manually compiling a list of this nature is almost impossible. Printacom recommends its customers use technology to determine their optimum printer deployment, and recommends print auditing software.

This technology invisibly screens all printing in a corporation without the users knowledge. Printing habits are monitored, collected and analysed, providing management with a clear picture of the printing needs of the company.

"Once the application has been running for some time, it`s easy to spot which printers are over- or under-utilised and where printers could be put to better use," says Rom. "It is also an excellent indicator of what printers are needed in various departments, cutting down on guesswork when making purchasing decisions."

Managers concerned with extracting the most from their budgets will find print tracking and auditing software a more cost-effective means of lowering their printing costs. They are able to select the right printer for the job, which prolongs the life of the printer and therefore there are fewer user complaints. Additionally, there will also be fewer protests from users that their printers are being hogged by other departments.

"Through our Corporate Solutions division we are able to provide customers with solutions that will help identify under-utilised assets, rooting out expensive desktop devices and reducing overall print volumes," concludes Rom. "Choosing a printer is not simply a matter of picking the first available machine and forgetting about it. It is important to select one that will provide the optimum, most cost-effective service over its lifespan while significantly reducing printing costs and the amount of user intervention required to keep it running."