Old vs New: The Cost of an Outdated Print Solution

Ask yourself these: How long has my print solution remained the same? Is it really working for me? How much does an old printer cost to run? Is it cheaper to maintain or to just update my printer? In our previous blog, we gave you a few digital solutions for reducing your business costs, things such as document management systems and cloud services, but in this month’s blog, we’ll be discussing one specific issue that you will likely overlook: The age and efficiency of your current print solution and when it’s time to consider getting a new printer.

To help you see the benefits of upgrading your print solution, we’ll be providing some real examples.

The Quality of Your Print Solution

Let’s be honest, the quality of the print doesn’t make much of a difference for most businesses. Most businesses need text on paper, and that’s about as complex as their print solution gets. But for customer-facing sectors like hospitality and professional services, a higher quality of print is important. Menus, letters of engagement, leaflets, and contracts, with documents like these you want to keep your print solution as up-to-date as possible. Modern printers can print in higher quality, at a higher rate, and for much longer.

For those of you who are looking to digitize or modernize these elements, you can also opt for digital solutions. For example, you can use digital display screens to display your menus, maps, or signage, meaning that you can change them when you like with no need to print. You can also use interactive displays, which means customers or staff can engage directly and leave your team free to stay productive. With a modern solution you have more control over your business.

Servicing and Maintaining Your Print Solution

Things fall apart. As time goes on, servicing old machines becomes increasingly more difficult. Old machines are more prone to errors and malfunctions, with replacement parts becoming increasingly harder to source. If a machine line discontinues, then the manufacturer can only guarantee the availability of parts for a short amount of time. This means that parts become scarce, and the likelihood that your printer can go down for good increases.

Therefore, it’s extremely important to have a print review. Take a look at the print solution in your office, monitor the usage of your machines, their age, and their durability. You may need an upgrade. To save you the stress, it’s a good idea to have an expert review this for you. Woodbank provide a free no-commitment print review so that you can understand how your print infrastructure is working and how best to optimize.

Costs of an Outdated Printers

As you can imagine, with increased problems comes inflated costs. But a machine’s downtime doesn’t just raise the costs of maintenance. it also affects overall operations. Your IT Department has better things to do with their time than fix a printer, and while we can boast a first time fix rate of 95% and call out times of under 4 hours, it’s much easier just to have a print solution that runs smoothly. This leaves your staff time to focus on what needs to be done.

A print expert like Woodbank Office Solutions can optimize your system at the very beginning so that you are only spending what you need to, whether that’s maintaining your current system or installing new printers. We also provide extended customer care, maintain those at a fixed fee so you have no surprise payments going forward.

A Modern Print Solution Saves Space

What happened to those giant brick mobiles from the 1980s? Well, over time, technology shrinks. There’s no longer a need to have giant printers, fax machines, and scanners clogging up different corners of your office or even desktops. You can conserve space and reduce waste by consolidating your solution into a modern multifunctional device. A multifunctional device, as its name suggests, has multiple purposes, including printing, scanning, and booklet making, saving you space on multiple counts.

An important part of understanding whether your current print solution is working, is knowing if your machine is under or overworked. If you only have one printer being overloaded with work from multiple people or departments, you’re going to run into maintenance issues. If you want to conserve space and can’t afford the room for new printers, you can always upgrade your printer to match the volume you’re printing. Simple.

Your Printing Needs Change Over Time

Businesses change. What was right for you a few years ago may not be right for you now. Much like any system within your organization, it is important to monitor whether your print management solution is working for you. Every day, we help businesses figure out the best print solution which fits their operational needs. We do this by taking a holistic approach. First, we review your current set-up to find out what printers and copiers you have, where you keep them within the office, how much volume you currently go through, and then we discuss your operational goals. We are able to determine very quickly whether the solution is a good fit for you.

Find out how you can save up to 20% on your print solution by contacting us or giving us a call on 0161 474 0085.