It is estimated that in 2006 European businesses wasted
over 9 billion euros through inefficient business
practices, up from 8.4 billion euros in 2004. Much of this
waste is put down to "Docuwaste" - a massive
over-indulgence in print usage which waste untold reams of
paper and gallons of ink and toner - for no financial gain
to anyone.
However, there is some evidence in the UK, where Docuwaste
actually decreased by 4% in the same period, that
businesses are taking note of this massive problem. This
could be down to the fact that a large number of financial
organisations in the UK need to control print output for
compliance reasons, and are using Print management software
applications to monitor, control and actually charge for
printer use.
Such print management software applications are often
introduced as part of a managed print service by external
suppliers. But applications are now often included at no
additional cost with printers (e.g. Hewlett Packard's Web
Jetadmin). Such systems don't simply work "reactively" to
provide detailed reports on device usage, but they can also
be used proactively to ensure that any printing policies
(e.g. duplex double sided printing) or to restrict access
to certain features (e.g. colour printing) or to set print
quotas per team, workgroup or department.
More about print autorouting
Why not ensure that print jobs are sent to the printer best
suited to the task? This can be done using an auto-routing
programme, such as is provided with any reasonable-quality
print management software suite. Thus in an example
scenario, where a user wants to send a 2 page document to a
desktop printer (ideal for the task) then the software
would allow this. However, if the same user tried to send a
200-page document to the same printer, the software will
alert the user, and send it to the more appropriate high
speed departmental or workgroup Multifunctional high speed
device.
Email printing control
Print management software rules can also be set for
specific applications, so that an administrator could
enforce a policy not to print email messages, for example.
Or it could be configured so that email messages were only
ever printed in black and white, thus avoiding a colour
click charge every time an email with a coloured logo or a
highlighted email address was printed.
Other efficiencies introduced
How about the time wasting which can create hidden costs?
By automatically routing jobs from an out-of-order printer
to one that actually is working can be one example. Another
example is the prioritising of print jobs for designated
individuals with important deadlines to meet.
Secure print solutions - "follow me" printing
More than half of those who replied to a recent Fujitsu
Siemens' survey said that they had printed the same
document several times by mistake and 43% said that they
had mistakenly picked up someone else's printout. Such
wasteful - and frustrating - problems can be avoided using
Secure Print Programmes. These are more generally known by
the term "follow me printing". What happens is that the
print job is held on a server on a server until the owner
releases them by entering a code or swiping a card on a
network printer. Because the document is not printed until
the user is at the machine, prints do not have a chance to
fall into the wrong hands or get removed by someone else.
Chargebacks
Another major advantage of print job tracking is that it
becomes possible to charge customers or departments for the
prints they make. Cost recovery solutions, again a part of
any good print management software suite, can be used to
charge customers by invoice or through pre-pay systems.
----------------------------------------------------
Jimi St. Pierre writes for several Office Equipment
suppliers in the UK, including office printer supplier
Principal. Helpful advice on print management software can
be found as part of Principal's comprehensive Print
Supplies website at => http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/
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