Tips and Suggestions to Reduce Photocopier Costs

Paragon provide you with the best, most up-to-date photocopiers and printers on the market, we are aware that every penny of your hard earned cash, counts, we want you to save as much of it as you can.

Don't know about you, but I remember the days when photocopiers and printers didn't exist, and if you wanted to reproduce work we used something called a 'Bander' machine.

These duplicating machines involved the use of 'carbon type' paper, on which you wrote the document to be printed. When ready, you, (or if you could get some other unsuspecting mug to do it for you), would laboriously turn the handle, what felt like hundreds of times, to produce your substandard copies. For years this method of reproduction was the primary means in which to copy everything from worksheets to official documents.

How times have changed, I ask myself. Since those long lost, halcyon days, document reproduction technology has come on in leaps and bounds. Now digital duplicators like scanners, laser printers and photocopiers are at the forefront of the printing world, and far better off we all are too, as at the very least, there are less people suffering from tennis elbow!

I do however, wonder if our current aim for a 'paperless society' will ever come to fruition in the current climate of overuse of the world's resources. Did you know that in 2004, the United States used 8 million tons of office paper (3.2 billion reams). That's the equivalent of 178 million trees! Perhaps we have gone too far in the pursuit of technology!

So with this in mind I have gathered together a few tips and suggestions to reducing your

copying costs. After all, the more you can save, the more you can spend on other areas of your business.

So THINK BEFORE YOU INK!

Tips & suggestions to reduce your photocopying costs

1. Reduce Number of Pages in a Publication

• Abridge or shorten content and refer readers to the web for more information.
• Use tinier fonts and reduce the size of the margins.
• Decrease the space between the lines of type.
• Reduce the size and number of photos and other graphic elements.

2. Reduce the Number Colour Prints

• A large coloured report plus coloured front cover can be expensive to copy.
• The same report printed in black with just the front cover printed in colour will be much less expensive to copy. (Over 90% less in fact).

3. Try Going Double Sided

• If possible, print double sided, or print to PDF.

4. Print On Demand

• Think about using a "print on demand" service, so that copies are ordered as they are needed. This prevents extra copies being printed unnecessarily.

5. Look at Your Paper Costs

• Wherever possible, use environmentally-friendly paper and try to select paper with economy in mind.

6. Print One, Then Copy

• Printing a copy of a document is less than the cost of photocopying the same document. Instead of printing multiple copies, print only one document and then photocopy the additional ones you need. Also, if you have a networked copier, send the files there to print instead.

7. Consider Transferring Publications to a Web Format

• Try to review everything you currently photocopy for a possible conversion to a web format. Put any documents like course-packs and materials on a CD or on the internet. This not only simplifies and improves the process, but also reduces your overall costs.

8. Edit Work Online

• Adobe Acrobat provides various tools that can make notations for edits - without ever having to print a copy.

The best tool to do this is the sticky note tool. With this, people can add and share comments on PDF documents, without obscuring the content. Therefore, numerous editors and authors can comment on and make any amendments to the document, so that multiple review copies don't need to be sent out, thus saving you money.

How to add a sticky note in Adobe Acrobat:

• Go to the Review and Comment menu and select the Note Tool
• Click on the page to stick down your new note
• Type your note
• Click outside the note to return to the main document

9. Proofread on the Screen

• Try to proof your documents on the screen, rather than printing them out for proofreading

10. Reduce Administrative Photocopying

• Try to convert administrative forms such as application forms, time cards or holiday forms etc, to electronic formats.

11. Conduct Paperless Meetings

• Display meeting agendas via e mail using a PowerPoint program perhaps, rather than printing them out.

Conclusion and Paragon comment

Although we at Paragon can provide you with the best, most up-to-date photocopiers and printers on the market, we know every penny of your hard earned cash, counts.

Many photocopies and printouts that people make are unnecessary - they are often made out of habit, without thinking about the vast array of more convenient, economical and sustainable options. Many documents could be printed less expensively by using black and white instead of colour, making double sided copies and by organising information more efficiently. Also, by printing shorter summaries and posting the full document online, you can reduce costs significantly, thereby saving you pounds in printing costs. Photocopiers are usually more efficient than desktop printers, so costs can be reduced by making one printed copy and the rest as photocopies. Indeed, some jobs that are usually photocopied can actually be printed far less expensively by using an offset printer!

So try saving the planet (and your purse) by being a good 'budget steward.' For more information on how to optimise the cost of your printers & photocopiers contact us.

And, 'THINK BEFORE YOU INK!'