Key Takeaways
- Government agencies can reduce printing costs by understanding how devices are used across departments.
- Print policies can help reduce unnecessary color printing, paper consumption, and unneeded print jobs.
- Consolidating or right-sizing equipment can reduce the number of devices that require supplies, maintenance, and support.
- Digital workflows can reduce reliance on printed documents for certain processes.
- Managed Print Services can provide greater visibility into equipment usage, supplies, maintenance, and overall print activity.
Government agencies rely on printing for everything from everyday administrative work to public-facing documents and internal records. But without visibility into equipment and usage, printing expenses can become difficult to manage.
Reducing those expenses doesn’t necessarily mean limiting employees’ access to printing. Instead, agencies can focus on eliminating unnecessary printing, optimizing equipment, and gaining a better understanding of how their print environment operates.
Here are five practical ways government agencies can reduce printing costs while maintaining the document capabilities their teams need.
1. Establish Clear Print Management Policies
A good place to start is with everyday printing habits.
Employees may print in color when black and white would work, print single-sided documents that could be double-sided, or create physical copies of documents that could remain digital.
Simple print policies can help establish more efficient habits.
Agencies may consider:
- Setting duplex printing as the default when appropriate
- Using black-and-white printing as the default for everyday documents
- Establishing guidelines for high-volume print jobs
- Encouraging digital document sharing when printing isn’t necessary
- Monitoring print volumes by department or device
Print management software can provide additional visibility into usage and help administrators understand where the greatest print volumes and expenses occur.
The goal isn’t to prevent employees from printing. It’s to make sure printing resources are being used appropriately.
2. Optimize Your Printer and Copier Fleet
More devices don’t necessarily create a more efficient office.
An organization may have desktop printers, multifunction devices, and copiers spread throughout different departments. Over time, some devices may become underused while others handle more volume than they were designed for.
A print assessment can help identify:
- Underused equipment
- Aging or inefficient devices
- Departments with unusually high print volumes
- Equipment that doesn’t match current usage
- Opportunities to consolidate devices
- Areas that may need higher-capacity equipment
Strategically placed multifunction printers can also combine printing, copying, scanning, and other document functions into fewer devices.
That doesn’t mean every desktop printer should automatically be removed. The goal is to right-size the fleet based on how employees actually work.
3. Move Appropriate Processes to Digital Workflows
One of the most effective ways to reduce printing is simply to avoid creating a printed document when a digital process works better.
Government organizations can evaluate workflows that still rely heavily on paper and determine whether some steps can be digitized.
Depending on the agency and its requirements, this may include:
- Electronic forms
- Digital approvals
- Electronic signatures
- Document scanning
- Digital document storage
- Electronic document routing
- Secure collaboration platforms
Modern multifunction devices can also serve as an entry point into digital workflows by allowing employees to scan documents into approved systems rather than creating additional paper copies.
Not every government process can or should become paperless. But identifying processes where printing adds little value can reduce paper usage while making information easier to access.
4. Consider Managed Print Services
Managing a large fleet of printers and copiers can involve more than equipment maintenance.
Organizations also need to manage toner, supplies, service requests, usage, equipment performance, and future technology needs.
Managed Print Services, or MPS, provides a more centralized approach to managing those responsibilities.
Offix begins its Managed Print Services process by assessing an organization’s existing print infrastructure and identifying potential inefficiencies. Its MPS offering can also include device monitoring, hardware management, automated supply management, print policies, and reporting on usage and expenses.
Depending on an agency’s needs, Managed Print Services can help:
- Monitor printers and copiers
- Track print activity and expenses
- Manage toner and other supplies
- Support preventative maintenance
- Identify underused equipment
- Reduce administrative work associated with managing multiple devices
- Plan equipment changes based on actual usage
Offix also offers remote equipment monitoring that can help identify supply needs and potential equipment issues.
Having this information gives organizations a better foundation for making decisions about their print environment.
5. Encourage Smarter Printing Habits
Technology alone won’t reduce unnecessary printing if employees aren’t aware of how their everyday choices affect the organization.
Agencies can encourage employees to think more intentionally about when and how they print.
Simple practices may include:
- Reviewing documents before printing to avoid reprints
- Printing double-sided when appropriate
- Using black and white when color isn’t necessary
- Sharing documents digitally when practical
- Avoiding unnecessary duplicate copies
- Using secure print release for sensitive or important documents
Agencies can also use print data to identify broader trends and determine where additional guidance may be helpful.
Over time, small changes across a large organization can contribute to a more efficient print environment.
Start With a Print Assessment
Before making major equipment or policy changes, agencies should understand their current print environment.
How many devices are being used? Which departments print the most? Which equipment requires the most service? How much is being spent on supplies? Are some devices being underused while others are overloaded?
A print assessment can help answer these questions and identify opportunities for improvement.
Offix’s consultation process includes reviewing current business processes, workflows, and equipment organization before developing recommendations for equipment, software, and process improvements.
For government organizations, this can provide a clearer picture of where print resources are being used and where adjustments may make sense.
Build a More Cost-Efficient Print Environment
There isn’t one change that will reduce every agency’s printing expenses.
Instead, government agencies can reduce printing costs by combining smarter policies, appropriate equipment, digital workflows, print monitoring, and employee awareness.
The right strategy depends on the size of the organization, its workflows, security requirements, print volumes, and existing equipment.
Contact Offix today to discuss your agency’s current print environment and learn how we can help identify opportunities for greater efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What contributes to government printing costs?
Printing expenses can include equipment, toner, paper, maintenance, repairs, energy use, IT resources, and employee time spent managing devices and supplies. Unnecessary printing and poorly matched equipment can also increase overall costs.
What is a print assessment?
A print assessment evaluates an organization’s existing equipment and printing activity. It can help identify device utilization, print volumes, equipment needs, workflow inefficiencies, and potential opportunities to improve the print environment.
How can Managed Print Services help control printing costs?
Managed Print Services can provide greater visibility into equipment usage and expenses while helping organizations manage devices, supplies, maintenance, and print policies. Offix’s current MPS offering includes equipment assessment, device monitoring, automated supply management, and reporting capabilities.
Can multifunction printers help reduce printing expenses?
They can in the right environment. Multifunction printers combine capabilities such as printing, copying, and scanning in one device. Consolidating equipment may simplify supplies and maintenance, but organizations should evaluate actual usage before deciding which devices to remove or replace.
Does duplex printing cut paper use in half?
Not necessarily. Printing a two-page document on both sides of one sheet uses half as many sheets for that particular job, but an agency shouldn’t claim that enabling duplex printing will automatically reduce its total paper consumption by 50%. Actual savings depend on what employees print and whether documents are suitable for double-sided output.