Breaking Down Your Business Printing Costs: What You’re Really Spending
When businesses think of overhead, printing often flies under the radar. But the reality is, unmanaged printing costs can quietly drain thousands of dollars from your bottom line every year.
Printing is a necessary part of doing business, but it shouldn’t be a blind spot in your budget. By understanding your actual printing costs and taking steps to manage them, your business can save money, improve efficiency, and become more environmentally friendly.
The Shocking Truth About Office Printing Costs
According to a report from Gartner, companies spend up to 3% of their annual revenue on printing. That includes hardware, toner, paper, maintenance, and—most costly of all—employee time. Yet, 90% of businesses don’t know how many printers they have or how much they’re spending.
Let’s break it down with some averages:
- The average office worker prints 10,000 pages per year
- Each page costs about $0.06 to $0.13, depending on color vs. black & white
- That’s $600 to $1,300 per employee, per year on printing alone
For a 25-person office, that adds up to $15,000 to $32,500 annually. Plus, the average maintenance costs for a mid-size business are $1,200 – $6,000+ per year.
And that’s just the visible cost. The hidden costs of unmanaged printing—like wasted prints, inefficient workflows, or time spent troubleshooting—can make things worse.
Studies show that 20% of printed documents are never used. Employees often hit “Print” and never pick up the document, so it ends up in the trash. People also print emails unnecessarily, have to reprint pages due to formatting errors, or print personal documents at the business’s expense.
Plus, every hour your printer is down costs your business productivity. Without proactive maintenance, breakdowns are inevitable. Help desk tickets for printer issues make up 23% of IT support calls, pulling your tech team away from critical work. Offices either hoard toner (tying up cash in inventory) or run out (causing delays). Managed Print Services (MPS) solves this with auto-replenishment and usage tracking.
How Managed Print Services (MPS) Saves You Money
With MPS, you gain visibility, control, and cost savings.
- Reduced Supply Waste
Toner and ink are some of the most expensive liquids you can buy. With MPS, supplies are:
- Automatically monitored and replenished before you run out
- Matched to your exact print needs, reducing over-ordering or stockpiling
- Bundled in your service cost, avoiding surprise expenses
You only pay for what you need, when you need it.
- Lower Maintenance and Repair Costs
Printers break — it’s a fact of office life. But unexpected repairs and service calls can quickly eat into your budget. With MPS:
- Routine maintenance is scheduled proactively to prevent breakdowns
- Repairs are covered under a flat-rate service agreement
- Support is fast and expert-level, minimizing downtime
No more surprise bills for parts, labor, or emergency service calls.
- Consolidated Printing Environment
Most businesses have a mix of outdated, overused, or underutilized printers scattered across departments. MPS providers streamline your fleet by:
- Replacing multiple inefficient devices with fewer, smarter multifunction printers
- Eliminating unused or redundant machines
- Centralizing print management, making it easier to track and optimize usage
Fewer machines = less waste + lower energy costs.
- Usage Monitoring and Cost Visibility
You can’t reduce what you don’t measure. MPS gives you clear visibility into:
- Who prints the most
- What types of documents are being printed
- How much each department is spending
With usage data in hand, you can set limits, apply print policies, and encourage smarter habits.
- Improved Employee Productivity
When printers are always breaking, supplies are out of stock, or users don’t know how to troubleshoot, your team loses valuable time. MPS reduces that by:
- Ensuring devices are always up and running
- Providing support and training for staff
- Letting your IT team focus on strategic projects instead of printer headaches
Do You Know What You’re Really Spending?
If you’re not actively tracking print expenses, you’re almost certainly overspending. The good news? With a quick print environment assessment, you can get a clear picture and start saving immediately.
Instead of dealing with surprise repair bills, inconsistent toner orders, or unexpected upgrades, MPS typically bundles everything into a single monthly invoice. This makes budgeting easier and eliminates financial guesswork. Plus, Managed Print Services can reduce print-related costs by up to 30%.
Want to see how much you could save? Contact us for a free print assessment to help you uncover hidden costs, identify print habits, and design a more efficient solution tailored to your business.
Let’s talk. 843.236.6436.
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