From internet services and televisions to streaming platforms and camera equipment – advancements in technology have made many of the devices much cheaper to use than they were even five years ago. Many, but not all. Some technologies rely on external consumable resources, and in a fast and global society, these consumables are in demand.
The cost of printing is still climbing worldwide. No matter how sleek and dynamic printer machines become, they still rely on two valuable resources – ink and paper. In this article, we dive into the sourcing and supply of these materials, and effective ways for you to reduce printing expenses in your office.
Ink and toners
There was once a time when wooden carved letters were covered in ink and pressed against the page to form what we would now call printing. This would be any type of ink that the village was using. These days, this process is as specific as ensuring you have your Brother TN-253 toner cartridges for your Brother laser printer. It is a vastly different world today. Laser, InkJet, 3D, all-in-one and wireless printers dominate the market, and for good reason.
The printing machines available today are miles ahead in efficiency – they can perform faster and with more connectivity than ever before. While much of this progress is due to technological advancements, it’s also because of developments in the ink, toners and paper used in the printing process.
High-quality ink or toner is necessary to keep up with the efficiency of modern printers and help the ink material stretch further. High-quality ink is also a complex material to manufacture, and its price reflects this complexity.
The cost of ink and toners
If you use printers regularly, you might have been struck by the seemingly high cost of ink and toners. It might feel natural to go for cheaper inks in reaction to these expenses, but remember these materials are running through your expensive printing equipment.
High-quality inks and toners are the result of extensive research that has been underway since printers were first used. Quality inks and toners are developed from a combination of pigments, dyes, lubricants, resins and solvents. These materials are priced for their quality, and thus, the cost of high-quality printer inks and toners is bumped up. The payback is tenfold, though.
Good ink materials are designed to improve the longevity and performance of printers. Since businesses and individuals invest in their printers for long-term productivity, opting for better ink and toner cartridges protects the investment of your printer. Although it appears more costly to purchase high-quality ink, it will save you money in the long run.
Technological advancements
There is a reason businesses invest in advancing the products they deliver – investments in technological advancements and research don’t just result in better products, but also higher prices. Nowadays, our printers are highly effective, but we pay the cost for this efficiency through higher printer prices.
Specialist printers such as laser and 3D printers are designed and manufactured with highly technical and new-to-market technology. What’s more, the market for these specialist printers is growing, further driving prices for these types of printers into a much higher range.
Fronting the cost of modern printers makes the printing process expensive, and given the rise of technological investments, this is part of the reason the cost of printing is climbing. Again, the payoff for the climb in price is a better printing process that streamlines workflows.
How you can reduce the cost of printing
In a climate where printing costs are only climbing, yet printing is still an essential part of business, look to some simple strategies to reduce printing expenses for your office.
Firstly, the best way to reduce your printing expenditure is to reduce how much you print. You can establish office policies that ask employees to ‘think before they print’ and consider if the pages they need to print are all necessary. Digital options are always more economical and sustainable, and many documents can be shared through email or communication platforms to reduce the need to print.
Next, you can run some training that refreshes your team on how to print economically. In this training, include a step that encourages individuals to preview their print order before pressing print, and checking the page sizing and formatting. Mistakes in print orders are frequent and result in the print order being corrected and reprinted. The training can also promote the use of printing double-sided copies to reduce the use of paper, and to print in black and white as much as possible.
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The cost of printing is climbing worldwide, and while there is no concrete evidence it will continue to hike, there is also no reason for it to plateau. Technological advancements are continuously made in the printer industry. Alongside this, printer inks and toner materials are finite, and these materials need to be high-quality in order to protect the investment of modern printers. All of this results in printing becoming an expense that businesses need to monitor, and thankfully, through some easy-to-implement strategies, this is achievable.