End-to-End Strategies for Reducing Imaging and Printing Costs

A lot has been said about the high cost of imaging and printing these days (as much as six percent annual revenue across all industries according to InfoTrends1). But what is perhaps less well understood is the specific nature of the costs that factor into the total. The UK-based IT analyst firm Quocirca suggests that the hardware price of a printer represents just five percent of the total cost of ownership. Operating costs contribute another 45 percent. Support costs account for the remaining 50 percent of the cost of printing. Clearly, significant savings can be had by organizations that get a handle on support costs through better management of the imaging and printing environment. What follows is a brief look at three strategies that can enable organizations to lower costs by managing more effectively.

1. Buy into built-in management simplification
With an estimated 20 percent of all calls to IT help desks being printer related,2 it pays to enable end users to deal with issues directly at the device. Most HP MFPs and printers feature easy-to-access paper paths and supplies for simple troubleshooting and cartridge replacement. Newer HP technologies, such as the CM8000 series Color MFPs with Edgeline Technology, feature HP AutoNav. This automatic navigation tool actually guides users through the process of locating and resolving problems on their own. In addition, with time-saving features such as a common MFP control panel interface, toner level sensors, no-shake cartridges and online management, HP takes the hassle out of supplies management.

2. Put remote management to work for you
According to research conducted by Computer Economics, IT staffing increased at about half the rate of IT spending in 2006.3 It’s a fact that simply confirms what IT professionals have suspected for some time. Increasing staff productivity is essential if IT departments hope to meet business unit mandates and still find time for the strategic IT projects that drive business growth. Remote management and job accounting tools eliminate the need for many time-consuming onsite IT visits. Here are just some of the many remote monitoring and job accounting tools HP and its partners offer today to help organizations simplify and reduce the cost of managing the imaging and printing environment.

Use the following HP monitoring tools to lower costs, reduce downtime and simplify supply management:
- HP Web Jetadmin – a web-based print management solution that helps optimize device utilization, control color costs and streamline supplies management by enabling remote configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting of a wide variety of HP and non-HP network printers and associated print infrastructure components. HP Web Jetadmin10.0 boasts new features—such as improved support with Active Directory Services, enhanced security, a more intuitive user interface, integrated usage reporting with additional customizable reporting capabilities, links to HP Instant Support and new supplies management capabilities for multiple devices.
- HP Universal Print Driver for Windows (UPD) – Available as a free download, HP UPD provides one driver for virtually all HP PCL 5 and Postscript general office color laser printers, as well as blackand- white laser printers manufactured since 1997.

In addition, the driver automatically supports new HP LaserJet printers and multifunction printers, eliminating the need to deploy new drivers when equipment is upgraded or when the printing environment expands. According to a recent strategic assessment,4 individual organizations cited a range of benefits of this versatile print management tool:

For IT
» 20-30% less time adding new sites
» 5-10% drop in necessary operator assistance time
» Elimination of expensive print servers (which cost between $300/month and $2,900/month to maintain)
» 75% decrease in staffing required to integrate printers
» 50% reduction in working hours per month installing, certifying, maintaining and deploying print drivers
» 50-75% drop in administrator time

For the Help Desk
» 40-50% drop in time spent resolving printer problems
» 5% drop in monthly call ticket volume

- HP color access controls – Used to report and restrict color usage as well as to monitor and coordinate supply management, HP color access control features can be accessed through software tools, print servers and via settings on individual printers and copiers.
These features make it possible to allocate color capability to specific departments, workgroups or users. Such control can significantly reduce operational costs associated with color printing.