A White Paper analysis on the costly effects of printer proliferation

1. White Papers
L. Lee Kirkby, MBA © Leppert Business Systems Inc. 2005
About Leppert Printing Costs Money
For almost 30 years
Leppert Business It is surprising how many organizations do not act like they recognize the title statement.
Systems Inc. has been
Printing includes all devices that print paper including fax machines, laser printers, inkjets,
providing clients with
peace of mind as it copiers and form printers.
relates to the use of
enabling technologies in A large number of organizations let printing costs go unchecked due to their method of
their offices. From their acquiring printers and the related supplies, parts and support. Often the capital and service
facilities in Burlington cost of the device is born through a departmental or IT budget, while the purchase of paper
ON, Leppert respond to
the document centric
and supplies is done through the office supplies purchasing process. This separates the two
needs of a broad range major components of the printing cost equation into different areas and can hide the costs of
of clients throughout operation. When organizations start to pool this information, they are shocked at how much
southern Ontario. they spend on printing each year.
From simple network
laser printers and stand
Printing costs also get out of hand due to the relatively low cost of many print devices. This low
alone fax machines, to threshold for purchase permits devices to slip into an office for convenience based upon capital
sophisticated Electronic cost only. Unfortunately printer total cost of operation (TCO) will be more significantly affected
Storage systems and by the consumables over its lifetime than the capital cost. Consumables can easily represent 75
high speed advanced
multi function devices,
to 80 percent of the TCO of a printer. In the case of inkjet printers the consumables will easily
Leppert experts inte- exceed 90% of the TCO of the device. Low capital purchases become an unchecked long term cost.
grate customized solu-
tions to meet client A final reason for loss of focus on the costs of print operation is the apparent long life of laser
needs. printers. It is not unusual for a laser printer to be used for 5 or more years with some low
Founded in the days
volume units being used for 10 years. Getting maximum life out a device is good economy
where office technology on the surface. Unfortunately, the cost of operation of many older cartridge based printers
included manual type- undermines this potential. At toner coverage of 5% (industry average used to estimate toner
writers, Leppert has use) many older printers and fax devices will cost 4 to 5 cents per page for toner alone.
continued to reflect the
values of quality prod- Aggravating the impact of these costs is the true average toner coverage in the range of
ucts, quality service 10%. We have had clients who tracked true coverage at up to 15%. This means the rated
and personal interest 5 cent print is really 10 or 15 cents. For inkjets per page costs can easily reach 50 to 75
in the success of client
cents. Continuing to use a high operating cost printer, even when it is functional and paid for,
businesses. “Our clients
become an integral part can actually be more costly than replacing the unit with a new lower cost, dual component
of our success as an print device. Many newer units operate with costs as low as 1 cent per page. Even at 15%
organization. We value coverage that becomes only 3 cents. This lower operating cost has been one of the drivers for
their faith in our ability
the growth of copier based multifunction devices over the past few years and it is now being
to meet their changing
needs,” says founder complimented by new laser printers deploying dual component technology which can operate at
Richard Leppert. these very low operating costs.
“As the technolo- In the end the bottom line is, an analysis of your real printing costs can yield found dollars today.
gies have changed
we have changed
with them, constantly
focusing on deliver-
ing exceptional value
to our clients,” reflects
Ian Leppert, current
President. This client
centered approach to
Office Technologies is
reflected in Leppert’s
commitment to excep-
tional customer support,
quality products and
solutions.
Leppert – Your office
evolution experts.
support@leppert.com
P: 905-333-8766
F: 905-333-1830