5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Company's Printing Performance

October 1st, 2019 by Brian Courtney

If you know your printers are not performing as they should, then you probably also know you need to do something about it. But it’s not so easy to invest in an upgrade without real justification. So how do you know when the benefit outweighs the cost?

That’s what this article is all about.

THE COST OF PRINTING

Your company’s cost of printing involves more than just the actual dollars and cents you spend for hardware, paper, supplies, and maintenance. The real cost is determined by how your investment in print material impacts your overall success.

Yes, spending too much per page or printing unneeded documents can negatively affect cash flow. But what can hurt your business more than that is if your documents fail to accurately represent your brand, or they fall into the wrong hands, or they violate industry regulations.

All of those factors need to be considered when determining whether or not your corporate print application solutions meet your current or evolving business model. Managing who prints what and how your proprietary documents are securely distributed is as important as managing the actual price per piece of paper.

Even if your existing hardware or print services contract has not yet expired, it’s worth reviewing your overall printing operations today. In many cases, new agreements can be more affordable when a company like Van Ausdall & Farrar renegotiates your current contracts.

BENEFITS OF AN UPGRADED MULTI-FUNCTION PRINTER

Here are five aspects of printing to consider, to help you determine if now is the right time to upgrade your company’s printing capabilities.

  1. Security

    We recently outlined the need to protect your organization against the threat of phishing and hackers. No less important are the other threats to your business that document mismanagement can cause. What would the ramifications be if your corporate secrets were printed by unauthorized personnel? Or, if those vitals docs were lost forever because your server died or was destroyed? If you’re in a regulated industry – such as healthcare, legal, or government services – how would your organization be impacted if it failed to comply with the strict requirements attached to every bit of information you document, store, print, and distribute?

  2. Quality

    In today’s business environment, appearances matter. The brand standards you set internally directly transfer to your external stakeholders, so it’s important to lead the charge rather than follow in the footsteps of your competitors. Is your current print system hindering or helping you be the best and obvious option in your marketplace?

  3. Cost

    The pennies per copy you spend do add up, so the price you pay per print job does matter, especially to your bean counters and stockholders. The overall efficiency of new multi-function printers will typically provide a lower cost per copy, along with the essential top quality documents you need to stay competitive.

  4. Service / Maintenance Issues

    Frequent repairs to your printers disrupt your team’s efficiency and productivity, which hinders their overall performance – and perhaps morale. Is there anything more frustrating than not being able to copy or print documents when they’re needed? Hanging around the water cooler chatting with co-employees is good for building team relationships. Hanging around a malfunctioning printer waiting for a repair technician is good for nothing.

  5. Multi-functionality

    A WiFi-ready, cloud-connected, multi-function printer (MFP) combines the performance of different hardware into a single unit that can serve your entire network for printing, scanning, and faxing. By upgrading to a more-efficient MFP system, you can increase print quality and staff productivity, as well as allow for higher-volume projects and simultaneous access for more people and devices. Settings adjustments for access limitations and security rules help keep your documents organized and safe. Tracking of all printed documents helps you maintain control of your information and costs. Additional cost reductions can also come from using fewer supplies and electricity.

Additional issues to consider include compatibility with your other technologies, such as storage and cloud connectivity. Taking into consideration all of the items above, it may be less expensive overall to renegotiate old contracts and upgrade your printing system now rather than waiting until your contract end date.

OPTIONS FOR ANY SITUATION

If your current contract is still in force for a while, we can help you sort through all of the details to determine if now is a good time to move forward with an MFP upgrade. If your contract expires soon and you already know you need to improve your print operations, we can help you select, install, and maintain a state-of-the-art multi-function printer system designed with business growth in mind.

Every decision you do or don’t make is eventually evaluated. How will you be evaluated regarding your company’s printing capabilities and efficiencies? If you’re not absolutely sure you pass that test with flying colors, contact us to learn more about upgrading to a NEW multi-function printer supported by our industry-leading IT experts.

Posted in: Insights from VAF Blog, Print