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Business Print Insights

How Much Is Your Company Really Spending on Office Printing?

Printer rental or purchase price is only one part of the cost. Consumables, excessive colour printing, downtime, maintenance and inefficient document workflows can quietly increase what your business spends every month.

Ark IT Global6 October 2026Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
UnderstandIdentify every component of your printing cost.
MeasureCompare actual usage by device and department.
ImproveBuild a practical plan to control cost and downtime.

The Real Cost

The Printer Price Does Not Tell the Whole Story

Many companies look only at monthly rental, purchase price or cost per page when reviewing their printing expenses. These figures matter, but they do not show the complete operational cost.

A printer that appears inexpensive can become costly when employees experience repeated paper jams, slow scanning, unavailable consumables, frequent repairs or long service delays. Staff time spent solving these issues is also a business cost, even when it does not appear on the supplier’s invoice.

True printing cost = equipment + usage + consumables + support + downtime + administration

To understand whether your current arrangement is efficient, each of these areas should be measured together.

Cost Components

What Should Be Included in a Print-Cost Review?

1

Equipment Cost

Monthly rental, lease payment, depreciation or the original purchase cost of each device.

2

Page Usage

Black-and-white and colour pages, print volume by department, paper size and peak-period demand.

3

Consumables

Ink, toner, drums, maintenance kits and emergency purchases that may sit outside the main contract.

4

Maintenance and Support

Repair charges, technician visits, replacement parts, contract fees and time spent coordinating different vendors.

5

Downtime

Lost employee time and delayed work when printing, copying or scanning is unavailable during business operations.

6

Workflow Inefficiency

Repeated scanning, manual routing, unnecessary colour output and unsuitable devices assigned to high-volume work.

Simple Calculation

Start With a Monthly Printing Inventory

A reliable assessment starts with actual usage rather than assumptions. List every office printer and multifunction device, then record the information below for at least one normal operating month.

Information to collectWhy it mattersWhere to find it
Black-and-white and colour page volumeShows the real workload and usage pattern of each device.Printer meter readings or supplier statements
Rental, lease or ownership costEstablishes the fixed monthly equipment cost.Contracts, invoices or asset records
Consumable and repair spendingIdentifies expenses not included in the main agreement.Purchase records and service invoices
Service calls and downtimeReveals reliability and operational disruption.Support tickets and staff feedback
Scanning and document workflow needsDetermines whether the device supports actual work requirements.User interviews and process observation

Once this information is collected, calculate the total monthly cost for each device and divide it by the total pages produced. This provides a more useful baseline than comparing supplier rates alone.

Warning Signs

Seven Signs Your Printing Environment Needs a Review

1. Nobody knows the total monthly cost

Invoices are spread across rental, consumables, repair and office-supply accounts.

2. Colour printing is not monitored

Departments use colour without clear policies, reporting or user controls.

3. Employees regularly report downtime

Paper jams, service delays or unavailable consumables interrupt urgent work.

4. Devices do not match actual volume

Small printers handle heavy workloads while larger machines remain underused.

5. Each branch manages printing differently

Contracts, suppliers and support standards vary across locations.

6. Scanning is slow or overly manual

Employees repeat steps because scanning destinations and workflows are not properly configured.

7. Management receives no usage reports

There is no reliable information for budgeting, vendor review or cost-control decisions.

Assessment Approach

What a Corporate Print Assessment Should Review

A print assessment should do more than count machines. It should connect printing costs with the way employees create, scan, share and manage documents.

  • Current printers, multifunction devices and their locations
  • Monthly black-and-white and colour print volume
  • Rental, consumable, maintenance and repair costs
  • Device age, reliability and recurring technical issues
  • Scanning, copying and document-routing requirements
  • Security requirements such as user authentication or secure print release
  • Service response expectations and business-critical departments
  • Opportunities to consolidate, replace or reassign devices

The goal is not simply to reduce the number of printers.

The goal is to create a printing environment that matches real business usage, provides reliable support and gives management clearer cost visibility.

Expected Output

What Your Company Should Receive After the Assessment

Current-State Summary

An overview of devices, usage, costs, workflows and major operational issues.

Cost and Usage Findings

Clear observations showing where spending, downtime or unnecessary complexity exists.

Recommended Print Structure

Suggested device types, placement, capacity and support arrangements based on actual requirements.

Improvement Priorities

A practical action plan covering immediate fixes, medium-term changes and longer-term optimisation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Corporate Print Assessment FAQs

Does a print assessment require replacing all existing printers?

No. The assessment should first determine which devices remain suitable, which should be reassigned and which may need replacement. Recommendations should be based on usage and operational needs.

What information should we prepare?

Useful information includes printer models, meter readings, recent invoices, consumable purchases, service records and feedback from employees who print or scan regularly.

Can multiple branches be reviewed?

Yes. A multi-location review can compare usage, costs, service arrangements and device standards across branches before recommending a more consistent structure.

Is cost per page the only important measurement?

No. Cost per page is useful, but reliability, support response, scanning requirements, security and employee downtime should also be considered.

Free Corporate Print Assessment

Get a Clearer View of Your Printing Costs

Ark IT Global can review your current devices, print volume, document workflow and support requirements before recommending a practical corporate printing direction.

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