Print-related costs are on the rise
Print-related costs for most organisations account for an ever-increasing proportion of expenditure as the promise of the paperless office is further from reality than ever.

These costs include:

1. Depreciation of the capital cost and/or finance commitments
2. Service contract fees
3. Out of warranty maintenance and break down costs
4. Toner cartridges and other consumables including drums and maintenance kits, usage of which is dependant on print coverage

These costs are normally allocated to a number of general ledger expense accounts; accordingly even the most astute business managers don't know how much it's costing to run their fleet of print out-put devices.

Contributing factors include
Print devices are typically purchased to replace one that's reached the end of its effective life or to satisfy a need arising from changed circumstances. The latter includes more & more use of personal printers for convenience and/or confidentiality, increase in staff numbers, pressure from the marketing people for a better & faster colour device.

Because of the competitive nature of the industry the purchase price is almost always the total focus. In the case of larger multifunction devices the initial maintenance fee is also subject to robust negotiation, however that's not the case for most other output devices.

Although you'd expect this approach could only benefit end users it does in fact have serious shortcomings. The problem is that is doesn't go far enough; typically the overwhelming majority of output is through printers and the capital cost accounts for only a fraction of the cost of operating them. We often come across instances of businesses buying a colour laser printer for less than $1,000 and then spending $40,000 on toner cartridges, drums and service over a 4-year period. In the case of mono printers operating costs are usually 10 times more than the purchase price.

But even more importantly when purchasing a new device attention is rarely given to the suitability of the existing print platform to ensure a productive or cost effective solution over the next 3 to 5 years, or to the cost of administering it.

Print devices are also normally part & parcel of acquisitions and mergers. More often than not they're retained without any consideration to how much they cost to operate.

Limited resources mean management has to focus on the core business. Accordingly few have a strategy to optimise the performance of their fleet of print output devices or to drive down the cost of operating it.

Most suspect they're paying too much; however they don't get around to doing anything about it other than directing staff to telephone around to negotiate better toner pricing.

Causing the following problems
Without a plan most offices end up with 3 or 4 different brands of equipment, creating the following issues and problems:

1. Multiple service agents and consumable suppliers offering varying levels of service
2. High operating costs and a different cost per page for the output from each device
3. Unlimited access by all staff to colour devices
4. Higher costs of administration and poorer accountability
5. Over and/or under-utilisation of devices causing more down-time
6. Multiple toner cartridges, drums and other supplies for the different models. How often have you had to organise an urgent delivery of a particular toner? On the other hand it's not unusual to have a number of unused toner cartridges on hand when a device expires.
7. Warranties expiring at various dates, some of which are extended and others inadvertently overlooked
8. Fielding annoying and time consuming telemarketing calls from toner supply companies
9. Additional work maintaining plant registers
10. Disclosure of finance commitments in financial statements

There is an alternative
Foreign owned manufacturers and mass retailers dominate the industry.

No one can expect a manufacturer in any industry to give independent advice regarding the best product available to meet a specific requirement. It's also a fact that no manufacturer in any industry has the best product in every segment of their market.

It's also unreasonable to expect a sales assistant at a mass retailer to have the experience or knowledge to help anyone other than a low volume user.

We've been a vendor and service agent for the leading brands in the industry for more than 10 years so we're uniquely placed to help businesses avoid costly mistakes. More importantly our Board of Directors and team have many more years of commercial, sales and technical experience.

We've pooled those resources to develop a programme to help successful businesses implement a Print Management Plan that delivers savings ranging from 15 - 40% and at the same time improve productivity and user satisfaction.

How you can benefit from our knowledge
We'll conduct a complete audit of your print platform. Firstly we take the time to understand and analyse your current print environment, including future requirements, to identify its strengths and weaknesses.

The next step is to take meter readings from all your print out-put devices over a period that provides accurate average monthly volumes. We utilise a number of different methods to extract this information after consulting with your IT department.

Then we calculate exactly how much you're spending each month, down to how much each page costs from your various print devices.

Next we identify the equipment that'll meet your exact needs, utilising where possible existing devices.

Finally we'll submit a Print Management Plan that bundles the cost of the equipment, consumables and service to provide a guaranteed total cost per page. The Plan is easily varied to add additional machines and/or vary volumes to accommodate changes in your business.

We'll also help reduce the number of pages printed to deliver further savings.

Obligation free
For a limited time we're offering this service free of charge. Even if you don't implement our recommendations straight away we're confident you'll come back to us when you want to do something.

For your part you'll know exactly how much it costs to produce each page from all your devices, which can only help you manage your business better.

All we need is the assistance of your Accounts department to provide current service and toner costs and the date of purchase and cost of your print devices. Without this information we'll be wasting your time, as well as ours.

Moving forward
We'll take responsibility for the management of your total print environment. Our purpose-developed software will continuously monitor all your print devices to ensure productivity is maximised, as well as the people using them.

The Print Management Plan delivers the following benefits:

1. A fixed cost per mono & colour page inclusive of hardware, service and supplies regardless of the device used
2. Cost savings ranging from 15 - 40%
3. Improved productivity & user satisfaction
4. The fixed cost per page helps budgeting, cost recovery and allocation of costs to the appropriate business unit
5. A single point of contact improves communication and accountability. This appeals to IT and Accounts departments
6. A comprehensive plan that eliminates any capital outlays during the next 3 to 5 years
7. Control over who has access to colour devices

Implementation
After acceptance of our proposal our Project Manager will assume responsibility for a professional implementation including:

1. Project planning and scheduling;
2. Device installation;
3. Integration & testing;
4. User training schedules;
5. Removal of old equipment:
6. Client signoff;
7. Post-implementation review

Service and Support
Our proactive service is designed to attend to issues before they become a problem. We'll maximise equipment uptime and deliver quality prints during the equipment's lifetime.

We'll prepare a detailed report every six months including the print volume and service history for each device. The service history will list each call during the period, including our completion time measured from the time the call was logged until it's completed.

Our constant monitoring of your print environment ensures we recognise immediately if your needs change. It also enables us to identify any opportunities that arise to achieve further cost savings and efficiencies. It may be as simple as relocating equipment to ensure balanced use of your fleet. Whatever it is we'll always be on the look out to add value to your business.

Summary
We offer unbiased advice and solutions that deliver substantial savings and improved productivity. We'll also remove the pain of managing your print platform, leaving you free to concentrate on your business.

Please contact us today for a preliminary interview.

Call us on 9882 6611 or visit www.axiaoffice.com.au