The Datamax Thinking Blog

What’s commonly perceived as “just another business expense” is an oft-overlooked opportunity for cost-cutting measures. Tighten your budget belt with these 20 ways to cut print costs.

Hoping to trim some fat in 2020?

The extra weight we carry in our operating budgets can certainly impact our budget belt size, but also overall business performance and results. As we approach a new year, with budgets and business plans freshly ingrained in our minds, many businesses are searching for ways to trim some of the fat out of the overall cost of conducting business.

Today's copier, of course, is much more than just a copier. But does your organization treat it with the same vigilance as other network devices?

Chinese philosopher Laozi once said “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Developing a vision, and implementing it with strategically-placed solutions, will guide your exploration deep into the depths of your entire fleet of devices, and can lead to exhilarating new discoveries...including a dramatically more breathable bottom line. 

“Plan your Dive. Dive Your Plan."

Descending steadily toward the ocean floor, entering the wilderness of the deep sea and the marine life that inhabits it can be exhilarating... life changing. Properly planning and executing your dive under a specific set of rules and checklists helps you maintain control over your equipment – and your environment. It ensures a successful dive.

In working with your partner, how successful is implementation of new technology? Is there a Change Management Methodology that gets every employee on board safely? Or just a train wreck? 

Woodrow Wilson once famously said, “if you want to make enemies, try to change something.”

Funny, but for IT managers or business owners implementing an MFP fleet or IT-related onboarding process, perhaps a little too close for comfort.

Production printers, in short, need to make-ready for the long print run. But with a well-vetted partner, print operators and print executives alike can exhale a little deeper, breathe a little easier.

The air inside production print rooms continues to get thinner.

When the challenges arise that come with quicker turnarounds and increasing client demands, in-plants, quick print shops and commercial printers find it harder to breathe easy in the press room. Common scenarios...

The right technology partner can ensure long-term wellness for your organization: From security/compliance peace of mind, to highly efficient workflow processes and optimal uptime on your fleet of equipment. 

An annual check-up is a routinely prescribed course of action for adults to ensure long-term wellness. But that’s not the end-game.

True wellness is not defined by any one current ailment or appointment; it’s an actively pursued goal of maintaining good health based on a myriad of ongoing good habits. To ensure overall wellness for their print fleet, a healthcare organization needs much more than an annual checkup.

With capable production print systems and the right technology partner, in-house production offers you complete control over your price, your processes and your final product.

In the Indy Car racing circuit, road courses require superior braking systems that are able to handle intense, repetitive braking as cars approach sharp, hairpin turns.

Often times, outsourcing your production print is a lot like racing behind the wheel of a 700-horse power,  2.2-liter twin turbo Indy Car with inferior brakes: It runs like clockwork until the unexpected happens (deadline change, color issue, mark-up fee) and you completely lose control.

In the report, 36 percent of enterprises surveyed say they are printing MORE OFTEN than they were 12 months ago, while only 14 percent are printing less often. Similarly, 40 percent are scanning more often and 35 percent are copying more often.

By 2020, Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group predicts that 50 billion physical IoT devices will be connected to the Internet, consuming, generating, and communicating data. The office is no exception.

Crucial documents reside on our desks and file cabinets, but also in cloud servers and mobile devices. With such wide and easy access to the information we need, it’s tempting to think that printing may soon become a function of the past.

As ESPN analyst Lee Corso famously says on College Football Game Day, “Not so fast, my friend!”

When it comes to managing a printing environment, many organizations find themselves without even a road map. Most companies don't realize how many documents are wasted daily – money literally thrown away. 

It comes up regularly on long car rides with my wife – what did we ever do pre-smartphone GPS? My answer: There was always, of course, the trusted Rand McNally map, along with the refined technique of folding it back adequately enough to fit back into your glove box. The Rand McNally, for me, is a sentimental relic from family vacations past.

The burden of administrators handling an entire fleet can be significantly lifted by usability improvements and features that simply make doing their job more efficient.

Visiting a car dealership (even if today, most buyers’ research is done online beforehand), there’s multiple variables to consider. Beyond budget and leasing options, one must consider speed (that sleek, streamlined sports car), functionality (the gas-friendly cross-over with room for the dog), safety/security, as well as that inevitable drop in value with that vehicle moving forward.   

The same used to be said about copiers.