The Benefits of Cost Per Print

The Benefits of Cost Per Print

There are a few different models when it comes to managed print for your print fleet. Which one is right for you?  We provide fleet management for major companies and large hospitals, and understand that different programs work for different systems. 

We have over 10 years of experience in print fleet management. Our goal is to use what we have learned, whether in the copier business or fleet management, to provide the best services for you.

In this article we are going to primarily focus on cost per print and make a few comparisons to the others, to help you understand exactly why we consider it the best overall value. 

We will also briefly mention some of the programs that help us discern and organize a fleet.

Cost Per Print Coverage vs. Other Programs

Cost per print services have the most coverage, as they include labor, parts and toner in one package, whereas the other plans have more risk for the client when it comes to toner management or devices breaking down. 

With a basic maintenance package, you get printer maintenance per device, including all costs for parts, labor and software, but your toner is transactional. 

With this model, the risks for the customer are all based on the toner. Because it has to be shipped, if there is already  excess on a shelf somewhere, it wastes money. Some examples of this are: 

• If you switch device models, it ends up on a shelf. 
• It can be taken by another department when they come up short because their toner ran out. 
• It has to get to the right department once it arrives on the premises. 

All of these create potential waste.

With a managed cartridge program, you can work in labor and parts, and the software will be measuring volume. However, the risks with the toner are the same as the basic plan.

Cost per print includes the labor, parts and toner, putting the responsibility of the toner on us. That means we control when it ships out based on the data we receive from the usage of the devices and examining the page yield for the things that are covered. 

The only con for the client is that a flat rate per device means overused devices are getting more toner. This can be alleviated by adding programs such as follow me printing, or by looking at the device’s location.  Meaning if there is a small printer in a department that everyone starts printing to, the cost per print on this device will be higher than if it is printed on ideal printers for the print jobs.

What factors impact my cost per print?

There are a couple of factors that impact printing costs. The first is the percentage of color in your overall volume. Color obviously costs more, so the higher the usage, the higher your effective rate will be. This can be mitigated by assigning certain color print jobs to specific devices, and printing some things in black and white when it is not necessary to have them in color. 

An example of color printing that should have rules would  include something as small as an email on a document, which usually shows up as blue. If you print enough of those over the years, it adds up to wasted color. Making print rules for your laser printer fleet.

The second thing to impact cost per print is the rates you have on individual devices. That is why it is important to mitigate how much of your volume is going to the right devices. If too much of the volume is going to expensive devices, it will cause your cost per print to go up. There are consumables which are required on laser printers which contribute to the cost per print.

• Ink cost – Toner cartridges (or ink cartridge if using an inkjet printer)
• Imaging units
• Maintenance kits
• Waste cartridges
• Drums
• Transfer Belts

The final part of print cost has to do with the workload of the device. When you multiply the rate of the clicks by the volume, you get the total amount that a specific printer costs per month.  When you work out the average cost per print based on the print cartridge and supplies yield, then that can be marked up and then the key or a MPS provider is managing the fleet, so supplies are not sent out when they are not needed. 

The managed print company will create the estimated cost to print and then manage it as well as possible to maintain profitability and low cost for the client.

Our Solutions

All of these factors can be looked at when deciding how to streamline a fleet and what programs to put into place that minimize misuse and waste. If you would like to learn about these programs and how we analyze them, give us a call.