*NEWS* ARE-U CLUELESS ABOUT PRINT COSTS ?

[Anonymous]

uk: Clueless about print costs? You’re not alone
Save money and the environment anyone?
DEC
2006 Businesses are clueless about how much money they are spending on
printing and many realise they must seize the initiative in order to
cut costs and reduce carbon waste.Nearly three-quarters (71 per cent)
of companies are unaware of how much they spend on printing, according
to recent research, and when additional costs such as power consumption
are factored in the picture gets worse.Simon Norbury, head of ICT at
Westminster City Council, said companies have to understand the full
cost of ownership where printing is concerned, adding he is currently
addressing such issues within his own function.Norbury said many
companies may be supporting massive inefficiencies with the maintenance
of old and outdated printers. They may also have an inefficient ratio
of printers to staff, making some units “very expensive luxuries”.Kevin
Fitzpatrick, CTO of Manpower, called for personal printers to be
severely restricted and the implementation of strategies including “fax
to email” solutions and consolidating onto multi-function units for
printing, copying and faxing to keep costs down.Using less paper is key
and many new copiers and printers include paper-saving functionality
but Nicholas Bellenberg, IT director at UK publisher Hachette
Filipacchi, said: “The cost of paper is still the smallest part of the
office printing bill after cap-ex, consumables and maintenance.”As
such, power-saving functions are also critical. But more than a third
of companies surveyed by copier and printer giant Ricoh said the most
difficult print cost to quantify was spending on consumables like toner
and ink.Rob Neil, head of ICT and customer service at Ashford Borough
Council, told silicon.com: “Technology issues are the least of the
problem – the real issue is the cultural change required to prise
people away from their ‘own’ desktop or workgroup print devices.”Luke
Mellors, IT director at Expotel, said: “I would say that environmental
standards are impacting the reduction of paper and the use of more
renewable alternatives, but neither currently is encouraging me to look
heavily at a solution that in the past I have found to be unmanageable,
not measurable and unattainable.

[Author]

December 11, 2006 at 12:45 PM