How to Reduce Office Printing Costs: 12 Practical Ways to Save Your Business Money
- Jul 10
- 4 min read
For many businesses, printing is simply part of everyday operations. From invoices and contracts to reports and training materials, office printers remain an essential tool across a wide range of industries.
However, without the right controls in place, printing can become a surprisingly expensive overhead. The true cost extends far beyond paper and toner, with maintenance, energy consumption, IT support and wasted prints all contributing to the overall expense.
Whether you're a small business, school, healthcare provider, manufacturing company or legal practice, reducing office printing costs can significantly improve your bottom line.
In this guide, we'll explain why printing costs escalate, how to reduce unnecessary printing, and how Managed Print Services (MPS) can help you achieve long-term savings.
Why Office Printing Costs More Than You Think
Many organisations only consider the cost of paper and toner when calculating their printing expenses. In reality, the total cost of printing also includes:
Printer servicing and maintenance
Replacement parts
Electricity consumption
IT support and troubleshooting
Employee time spent dealing with printer issues
Waste from unnecessary or incorrect printing
Storage of printed documents
Industry research suggests that printing can account for as much as 3% of an organisation's annual revenue, making it one of the largest hidden operational costs for many businesses.
Understanding where these costs arise is the first step towards reducing them.
12 Ways to Reduce Office Printing Costs
1. Choose the Right Printer for Your Business
Using the wrong device can significantly increase running costs.
For example:
Laser printers are generally more economical for high-volume black and white printing.
Inkjet printers are often better suited to lower print volumes and occasional colour documents.
Choosing equipment based on your actual requirements rather than the purchase price alone can reduce your long-term printing costs considerably.
2. Print Double-Sided by Default
One of the quickest ways to reduce paper usage is to enable duplex printing across your organisation.
Printing on both sides of the paper can reduce paper consumption by up to 50%, lowering both purchasing costs and environmental impact.
3. Restrict Colour Printing
Colour toner cartridges are significantly more expensive than black toner.
Consider limiting colour printing to documents where it is genuinely required, such as:
Marketing materials
Client presentations
Branded documents
Most day-to-day internal documents can be printed perfectly well in monochrome.
4. Use Draft Mode for Internal Documents
Not every document needs to be printed at the highest quality.
Using draft or economy mode for internal reports, meeting notes and working documents reduces toner consumption while maintaining perfectly readable output.
5. Consolidate Your Printer Fleet
Many businesses accumulate printers over time, resulting in multiple devices from different manufacturers across the office.
Consolidating these into fewer multifunction printers offers several benefits:
Lower maintenance costs
Reduced energy consumption
Fewer consumables to manage
Improved reliability
Simplified IT support
6. Monitor Printing Activity
You can't reduce costs if you don't know where they're coming from.
Print management software provides valuable insight into:
Who is printing
What is being printed
Print volumes
Colour usage
Departmental costs
This information helps identify unnecessary printing and opportunities for improvement.
7. Introduce Print Policies
Simple print policies can have a significant impact.
Examples include:
Default double-sided printing
Black and white as the default setting
Colour printing approval
Print quotas for departments
Automatic deletion of uncollected print jobs
These measures encourage more responsible printing habits across the organisation.
8. Encourage Digital Workflows
One of the most effective ways to reduce printing costs is simply to print less.
Consider replacing paper-based processes with:
PDF documents
Cloud storage
Digital document management
Electronic forms
Online collaboration tools
Electronic signatures
Digital workflows improve efficiency while reducing both printing costs and paper storage requirements.
9. Reduce Reprints
Many unnecessary printing costs come from simple mistakes.
Encourage employees to:
Review documents on screen
Use Print Preview
Check page orientation
Confirm page ranges before printing
Small improvements in user behaviour can significantly reduce waste.
10. Recycle Paper Responsibly
Although reducing printing should always be the priority, recycling remains important.
Provide clearly labelled recycling bins and encourage staff to:
Recycle confidential documents securely
Reuse single-sided paper for notes where appropriate
Minimise unnecessary waste
11. Secure Your Print Environment
Documents left unattended on printers not only create security risks but also contribute to unnecessary waste when users forget to collect them.
Secure print release solutions such as PaperCut Hive and PaperCut MF ensure documents are only printed when the authorised user is standing at the device.
This improves both security and efficiency.
12. Consider Managed Print Services
For many organisations, the most effective solution is partnering with a Managed Print Services provider.
Rather than managing printers internally, an MPS provider monitors and optimises your entire print environment.
Typical services include:
Print audits
Fleet optimisation
Automated toner replenishment
Preventative maintenance
Remote monitoring
Usage reporting
Cost analysis
Ongoing support
This allows businesses to reduce costs while improving reliability and productivity.
How Managed Print Services Help Reduce Printing Costs
Managed Print Services (MPS) take a proactive approach to print management rather than simply repairing printers when something goes wrong.
An experienced provider will:
Assess your current print environment
Identify unnecessary costs
Recommend more efficient devices
Reduce downtime through proactive maintenance
Improve document security
Monitor print usage
Optimise workflows
Many organisations discover they can significantly reduce their printing costs without compromising productivity.
Benefits of Reducing Office Printing Costs
Reducing printing costs doesn't just improve your budget. It also delivers wider business benefits, including:
Improved operational efficiency
Reduced paper waste
Lower environmental impact
Better document security
Less IT involvement
Increased employee productivity
More reliable printing infrastructure
Over time, these improvements can have a measurable impact on both profitability and workplace efficiency.
Final Thoughts
Printing will continue to play an important role in many organisations, but that doesn't mean it has to be expensive.
By reviewing your current print environment, implementing sensible print policies and embracing digital workflows where appropriate, you can significantly reduce your office printing costs.
For businesses looking to achieve long-term savings, Managed Print Services offer a proactive, data-driven approach that improves efficiency, reduces waste and gives you greater control over your entire print environment.
At MPS UK, we help organisations across the UK optimise their print infrastructure through tailored Managed Print Services, secure print management and expert support. If you're looking to reduce office printing costs and improve productivity, our team is here to help.
Comments