Seventy-nine per cent of SMEs and micro-businesses want to reduce the cost and waste of printing. EBM’s SME and Micro-Business Print Trends notes, but despite this more than half do not know how much they spend.
Mark Bailey, Managing Director, EBM said: “It’s clearly impossible to manage your printing budget if you don’t have any handle on it. We absolutely salute any business wanting to reduce its printing costs. But the first step in that journey is to assess spend over the last couple of years.”
What did the report say?
The research, conducted at The Business Show during May 2017, highlights that costs are a huge concern for smaller businesses. Especially as consumables such as toner and paper go on top of acquiring a new device. Despite this, the majority of businesses are still opting to purchase devices outright rather than leasing, which could be causing serious impact on their cash flow.
Cost is highlighted as a concern for organisations throughout the report, with the cost of the device and consumables topping the list when acquiring a new device, along with quality. Despite this, the majority of businesses (67%) are still opting to purchase devices outright rather than leasing (22%), which could be causing serious impact on their cash flow.
The report also highlights that SME and micro-businesses are not utilising the benefits of a managed print plan. The vast majority of respondents (62%) were micro-businesses employing two to ten employees; however, 52% of the respondents were utilising more than one device, demonstrating that printing still plays an important part in the day-to-day running of small businesses.
Bailey continued: “It came as no surprise that cost was a huge factor for businesses when making the decision to acquire a new print device, but our research demonstrates that many organisations are not putting as much thought into managing the ongoing spend on printing. This results in many businesses wasting a huge amount of money, time, and resources, often as a result of them purchasing inefficient devices that become outdated quickly, or having to fork out on repairs or replacement devices when things go wrong.
About a managed print plan
A managed print plan that includes a leased device, with maintenance as part of the package can prevent these issues, and are an affordable option for SMEs and micro-businesses as they include a set number of prints per month as part of the contract.
Print audits provide small businesses with insight into exactly how much they spend on printing, allowing a bespoke managed print plan to be developed to fit their needs. It’s a myth that managed print services are just for big businesses – everyone can benefit. In fact, in a paper heavy office, it’s surprising just how much money a SME could save.
Download the report here.