There’s a certain optimism baked into the assumption that employees will consistently make the right call when it comes to printer settings.
“Or anything else!” we hear you saying, fellow small business owners…
To be fair, most people aren’t explicitly trying to waste company resources (if they are, you may have problems beyond the scope of this blog post!). Most of the time, they’re just focused on getting their work done, and the printer is an afterthought.
When the printer is an afterthought, so are the costs associated with using it. Rule-based printing makes things so that even if your staff accidentally tries to print an internal memo on your most expensive glossy paper stock, they can’t. Modern Xerox MFPs have built-in systems that allow you to define exactly how certain jobs should be handled.
Let’s see how it works:
“No Rules” Means “No Limits” – and That Can Be a Substantial Drain on Your Print Budget
In a way, an unconfigured printer without any rules set up represents something of an open-ended invitation to consume paper and toner in whatever quantity and quality someone happens to select (or who simply forgets to change the last-used settings).
This can be managed “by hand” in very small offices, but when more than a handful of people are using the same printer, things can get messy (and expensive) quickly. Industry estimates consistently put unmanaged print spending among the more significant and overlooked operational expenses for businesses of all sizes, not just small businesses. However, small businesses often have the most to lose.
If you’re ready to eliminate these costs from your organization, read on.
Rule-Based Printing Is Simple to Set Up and Effective at Preventing Printer Misuse
Unlike bland policy documents (that end up in the circular filing cabinet) or verbal reminders (forgotten by tomorrow), rule-based printing doesn’t rely on anyone remembering anything. It just works.
Xerox Workplace Cloud or the Xerox embedded web server give you a centralized place to manage these rules. You can also apply consistent settings across multiple devices on your network without having to configure each one individually, which is nice if you have multiple printers in your workplace.
Some examples of rules you might establish:
- Duplex printing by default (no single-sided sheets)
- Monochrome printing only for internal documents
- A page amount threshold to automatically switch to draft mode (e.g., 100 pages or more)
- Job re-routing for offices with multiple printers
- Color restrictions based on who is using the printers
- Paper size defaults
- Limits for unauthenticated or “guest” users
Take Control of Your Print Environment With Xerox Rule-Based Printing and Beyond
If you’ve been thinking about evaluating your current print setup, or if you’re curious whether your existing equipment is configured to work as hard as it could be for your business, our polite, experienced team is a great resource. We would be more than happy to start a conversation with you about how you can meet (and exceed!) your goals.
Rule-based printing is just the start of taking back control over your office’s print resources.
If you’re ready to learn more, please feel free to contact us or request a free online quote.
