The ability to reduce toners consumption benefits at the same time for the managed print service and their customers.
Several factors influence toners’ cost, like Research & Development, supply and demand, short life-cycle, and currency exchange, depending on the location of the company. Most parts of these are not controlled by managed print services (MPS) and their clients. However, it is possible to save toner with technology and print management software and their features.
Achieving success in saving toner is a challenge that benefits the final customer. And, it is excellent news for the printing provider at the same time, since it is possible to offer the service without increasing costs. That benefit could be enhanced if the MPS offers proper education and guide the client through the best practices to support toners saving.
The different types of toners
It is important to start with the basics before providing some tips. In the beginning, the printers had a reservoir of ink. The current devices apply toners that could be changed or recharged. The consequences are more economy and less mess when compared with the ink tanks. However, companies had in the market different types of toners to acquire:
Original – The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) is sold mainly by the manufacturers. They are 100% guaranteed and do not interfere with the printer warranty.
Compatible – Some companies are specialized in developing print toners for several kinds of devices and brands. They are cheaper than OEM, but require attention to compatibility and efficiency.
Refurbished – Some toners can be remanufactured in a clear attempt to save money. It is a solution adopted on large scale by the market.
How the technology support companies
The Printer Management Software (PMS) is one of the best ways to operate a print environment, showing benefits for the provider and their client. Some solutions can monitor the device’s performance and the status of the toner.
In that case, the client and the MPS can define together the moment to issue alerts for changing the toner. In general, that index is aligned with the client in a print policy, according to the purpose of use of each device. Some possibilities are:
– Specify the percentage of toners – The PMS can guarantee the usage of toner until the red flags appear. This limit could be 5 or 10 percent of the capacity. That allows people to make the change at the right moment.
– Purpose of the device – Some companies divide their printers for external and internal usage because of quality properties. Documents for internal use could use less toner, while external requires more.
– Issue reports – It is the provider’s role to show the benefits of hiring your service, including reports of the reduction of costs in saving toners and papers, besides other benefits of managed print services.
Ecotoner
One feature helps to save toners: the “EcoToner”. That was developed to provide economy and better usage of the toners, an expensive supply. With EcoToner, the MPS and the client can adapt the levels of print tone.
It is easy to understand: the feature allows the organization to wither the ink at different levels: 20% do not interfere with document quality, while 60% make it more difficult to read. With this function in mind, the client can set the limits aiming to save toner consumption: internal documents can be more “light” and “blurred”, while external use more toner.
Besides PMS, another solution adopted by many organizations is the digital workflow. That helps companies and their employees to gain responsibility in printing and thinking about the environment and sustainability factors.
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