If you’re still getting phone calls, faxes, or emails from your vendor asking for a current meter reading, you’re probably starting to wonder, “Why am I still submitting meter readings? Shouldn’t meter collection be automated by now?”

Yes, it should, and from our perspective, it is taking longer than expected to automate the process of data collection for service contract billing. It looks like this is the year of implementation, though. With the onslaught of Managed Print Services being offered, most vendors now have some sort of third-party data collection agent they are eager to install on your network.

Here’s a scenario:

Let’s say you have 50 copier/MFD devices in your fleet and 4 different service providers. You decide to buy a few MFDs from one of your suppliers and they tell you that you don’t have to call in meter readings anymore.

Great! They say they will install free software on your network that will allow them to get the meter readings automatically. Not so great.

Here’s why:

The software they install on your network will probably allow them to see all the devices connected to your network and maybe even locally connected devices, including the copiers and printers they do not provide service for.

Now imagine your other three vendors also want to install software to collect meter readings for their devices automatically as well. You could potentially have four different software applications running on your network and each of your vendors will have access to information related to devices they are not providing service for.

The information about your fleet is extremely valuable - that’s why your vendors want access to it. Access to the information provides them with additional avenues of revenue from your organization. It is true that greater visibility into your fleet and volumes will allow your suppliers to tailor their solutions to meet your needs, but the one who controls the data gets to sit in the driver’s seat. We think you should be sitting in the driver’s seat - not your vendors.

Here’s a better scenario:

We recommend that you, independent of any hardware or service vendor, purchase or license a data collection agent and install it on a central server within your organization. The software tool will be yours no matter which vendor you do business with. Many data collection agents can be automatically programmed to deliver meter readings to the appropriate parties at the appropriate times. Then, with continual and direct access to information about your fleet, as you desire to make changes, you can provide specific information to vendors that you want to request quotations from.

If you have questions or would like to discuss this topic with us, please give us a call.

Hannah Recla
Analysis Services
Optimizon

 

Companies often fail to make the most out of their printer/copier agreements simply because of a lack of attention to the environment. The fact is that most organizations have not effectively grappled with printing and copying. Many struggle to understand how many printers reside on their network, how many pages are printed each month, or the cost of each sheet of paper that passes through the fleet. And most organizations have loosely organized methodologies for acquiring and managing the devices; fleets are fragmented, segmented, and non-integrated in placement philosophy.

As a result, there are tremendous opportunities to save money without investing in any new equipment. Analysts calculate that that most firms can reduce expenditures by as much as 30% through a more thoughtful attention the environment. In addition, capital expenditures can be cut, consumable costs can come down.

But how do you take advantage of these savings if you don’t know they exist? Consider these three areas to focus your attention.

• Device Deployment - A sub-optimized device deployment causes utilization to be off and that can drive cost creep and over-spend. Be sure to understand how devices are deployed and used across your fleet.
  
• Lease/Contract Reassessment - Hidden fees and unmonitored device utilization can cost you more than you anticipated. Be sure to periodically reassess your contracts and continually monitor utilization levels to ensure you get the most from your agreements.
  
• Workflow Optimization - Controlling costs depends on controlling the workflow. It is important to understand the decisions and habits of end users, and to educate them regarding the costs associated with printers and copiers.

Focusing attention on these areas can help you save money with your printer and copier fleet. For a more detailed roadmap toward savings download our white paper “Optimizing Your Printer/Copier Fleet - Five First Steps to a Document Strategy.” It’s free of charge, and valuable resource to help you make the most of your fleet. Visit http://www.optimizon.com/resources/whitepaper01.asp

Thanks to a recent CBS News Investigation, if you weren’t already aware of the need to secure data that is stored on your copier device’s hard drive, you are now.

Here are 4 things that you need to do to protect yourself:

1. Find out whether or not your copier has software to delete or overwrite the data that is stored on the hard drive. Your sales representative should be able to tell you whether or not that option was purchased when your copier was acquired. If your copier has this software, implement internal processes to make sure it is being used.

2. Notify your service vendor(s) that no equipment containing a hard drive may be removed from your location without your permission.  Before equipment is taken offsite for any reason (including equipment that is headed to the “shop” for repairs to be returned later), make sure the data on the hard drive is erased, overwritten, or remove the hard drive.

3. If your equipment is under a lease agreement, you’ll need to return the device with a hard drive in place. If your equipment does not have software to erase or overwrite the hard drive, get pricing from your hardware vendor to have the software installed as well as pricing for a replacement hard drive. Depending on which option is more cost-effective, either install and run the software, or replace the hard drives before the equipment leaves your site.

4. If your equipment was purchased, ask your service provider to remove the hard drive and turn it over to you before the copier leaves your site. You can either physically destroy the hard drive or store it in a secure location.

Hannah Recla
Analysis Service
Optimizon

According to a national research firm, the average K12 school district produces 15 to 25 pages per student per day - including documents produced onsite and through commercial means. Anyone curious as to what these pages cost? Well, most analysts would agree the average-cost-per-page in an education environments is somewhere around $0.02 to $0.04 cents per page, depending whether it is produced on a copier or printer. The figure is based on total operating cost, which includes expense such as electricity, real estate space, acquisition cost, bank financing, supply consumables, service and paper.

Although a few cents doesn’t seem like much, copier and printer costs quickly add up. A district with a 10,000 student population will spend $540,000 (15 pages per student) to $900,000 (25 pages per student) annually, just to provide copying and printer services.

The good news is there are multitude steps administrators can take, simple or complex, to reduce document output. In fact, reducing total output by just one page-per-student-per-day equals an annual savings of $36,000 to $72,000 - a target that can be easily attained in most districts.

So look around your school district and determine what steps you can take to reduce excess copies and prints. Chances are very real you could save tens of thousands of dollars. We suggest you read Hannah Recla’s post titled 14 Ideas for Reducing Paper Usage in Copiers and Printers. It offers several, east to implement suggestions to will help your district reduce the number of pages-per-student-per-day to achieve real savings.

Here are 14 ideas for reducing paper usage in copiers, printers and faxes. When used together, these suggestions can have a significant impact on the number of documents an organization produces.

1. Design documents effectively
   
   Before you hit the “GO” button, ask the following questions to determine if the document you need to communicate needs to go back to the “drawing board”.
   
   - What is the purpose of the document?
   - Who is my intended audience?
   - Why do I need to communicate this information to that audience?
   - What action or behavior am I expecting from the recipient?
   
   
2. Communicate information electronically
   
   Can the information be e-mailed?
   
   Determine if the document you’re about to copy can be communicated electronically. Do you have the document in an electronic format already? If so, can you e-mail the document to the intended recipients? If the document is not already available in an electronic format, can you scan the document and then e-mail it to your intended recipients?
   
   Can the information be posted online?
   
   Some teachers are beginning to post and receive homework assignments online. Also, school administrators are beginning to post board packets, teacher handbooks, student handbooks, student curriculum and various district documents online.
   
   
3. Don’t print multiple pages you don’t need
   
   Determine whether or not the information you need to communicate can be copied or printed on both sides of the paper using the device’s “duplex” feature. If so, make two-sided copies or prints. If the device you’re printing to cannot duplex, print the odd pages first and then put the pages you printed in the paper feed tray and then print the even pages on the blank side of the paper.
   
   
4. Shrink documents to half their size and print/copy 2-up
   
   Determine whether or not it is feasible to shrink your original down to 50% size and put two copies on one sheet of paper or to print two pages per sheet. Use this along with the duplex feature. (Check to make sure there is a paper cutter nearby.)
   
   
5. Don’t make copies you don’t need right now
   
   Are you planning on printing extra copies for future use? If possible, print only what you know you’ll use in the short-term so that if plans change in the coming weeks (or if the document undergoes a revision) there are not wasted copies.
   
   
6. Don’t print documents to send as faxes
   
   Determine whether or not the intended recipient has an email address you can send the document to. Additionally, there is software available for sending and receiving faxes through email which won’t use any paper at all on your end.
   
   
7. Don’t use fax cover sheets
   
   Determine if you can use a small sticky-note designed to communicate the recipient’s information or add the recipient’s name to the first page of the document you need to fax.
   
   
8. Eliminate junk faxes
   
   Call the number listed on the bottom of the page that is provided for removing yourself from the company’s fax list.
   
   
9. Preview the document before printing it
   
   Do a “print preview” before printing each document. If possible, increase the margins or change the formatting so that the document takes fewer pages. If you are printing from a web page, print to PDF (if possible) first, and then eliminate any unneeded pages.
   
   
10. Eliminate unneeded space when printing emails
    
    If it is necessary to print an email, copy and paste the email to another document that you can edit to remove unnecessary space and all but the relevant portions of the thread.
    
    
11. Re-use “half-used” paper
    
    Create a place to store “half-used” paper, i.e. paper that has a copy or print on one side, but not the other. Use this paper when printing rough drafts or internal memos.
    
    
12. Establish access codes for making copies or prints
    
    If not, ask your administrators if access controls can be set up. Access controls are an excellent means of holding everyone equally accountable for reducing waste.
    
    
13. Limited access to paper
    
    Another idea for potentially reducing paper usage is to control the amount of paper that each user has access to, perhaps on a monthly basis. Again, this could be an excellent means of holding everyone equally accountable for reducing waste.
    
    
14. Set a goal to reduce your paper use by 20%
    
    Many government agencies are setting a goal of reducing their paper usage by 20%. Track your own paper usage and see if you can reach this goal. Your great example will influence those around you!

Have you seen, heard about, or implemented other paper reduction suggestions or strategies? Please leave a comment and let me know about them!

Hannah Recla
Analysis Services

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