Printer costs add up. There’s the cost of paper. There’s the cost of ink. And then, there’s the cost of buying and servicing printers.

For businesses, this is a big investment. It’s also a place where most businesses would love to save money. If your business is looking for ways to save money on printer costs, here is what you need to do.

1. Cut Out The Color

Color ink and toner is one of the biggest wastes of money. Purchase black and white printers for your office.

If you need to occasionally print out color documents, buy a colored printer but tell employees it should only be used when necessary. By cutting color, you’ll save lots of money in printing costs.

2. Use Toner Not Ink

Ink jet printers are great if you have a home office or you are a college student. But if you’re printing hundreds of pages a day, you’ll want to go with a toner printer.

Toner is a better value. You can print a lot more documents with toner than you can with ink. Also, it’s a little easier to maintain.

3. Create Rules

Printers are one of the most abused pieces of office equipment. Make sure that your employees only use printers for work related purposes.

By doing this, you’ll cut costs on paper, toner/ink and your printer will not wear down as fast. Make sure to include this in any employee training materials. It will help you to save a lot of money.

4. Re-use Paper

Remember that paper has two sides. Encourage your employees to re-use paper whenever possible. You’ll save money and it’s good for the environment.

Use the backside of old printouts for note taking instead of using note pads and sticky notes. Discuss paper costs with your employees. This will help them to understand the cost associated with paper and printers.

5. Service Your Printer

An old broken printer can bring a project humming along to a complete stop. This obviously wastes valuable time and money.

Have your printers regularly serviced. This will help prevent any problems that can cause work delays.

6. Learn When To Say Goodbye

You have to know when to let go of a printer. A seven year old printer that has problems will cost you more money than buying a new printer.

Regularly keep all of your office equipment up to date. This will help to improve the productivity of your employees.

7. Digitize Documents

If you’re looking to cut costs on paper and printer costs. Look for ways to digitize paper documents.

If you have more employees, use digital documents, you’ll save on paper and printer costs. Talk with document management software vendors who can help you make the transition to digital documents.

Summary

Following these seven tips will help you to save on printer costs.

For more ideas on how to save on printer costs, talk with your employees and business partners for more ideas. You can also talk with a document imaging company about document management solutions.