Being eco-friendly at the office does not mean you have to interrupt your daily business tasks, rather it should work hand in hand. The process of implementing an environmentally friendly plan at the office is more than just placing a recycling bin by the office printer and encouraging employees to toss extra, misprinted, or unneeded paper into the bin. With managed print services (MPS) there is now a way to take a larger and more impactful approach to becoming environmentally friendly at the office without taking time or resources from your staff.
When it comes to printing, an MPS provider can assess your company’s current technology and usage and provide recommendations on how you can decrease your environmental footprint.
1. Take Control of Your Printing
With an MPS assessment, every aspect of your print environment is explored, from equipment inventory to your document output. Each device will be examined in order to provide you with a comprehensive analysis of cost and usage. As a result, ineffective devices will be identified and areas that will benefit most from environmentally friendly solutions will become apparent.
This is where you take control of your printing! You will now be able to manage your printing devices properly, know exactly how many printing devices you have, and understand the volume of each device. Additionally, by having one print vendor you will have the ability to consolidate your costs, implement best practices across your organization, and utilize existing print devices effectively.
2. Manage Your Ink and Toner
When it comes to cost and environmental impact of waste, ink and toner come a close second to paper. An MPS provider can optimise your print fleet to save ink and train employees on ways they can reduce the use of toner.
Tip: Use grayscale or draft printing to reduce toner usage, without reducing resolution.
3. Reduce Your Energy Consumption
A strategic plan from an MPS provider can reorganize your company’s print infrastructure while creating more energy efficient workspaces along the way. MPS providers accomplish this by consolidating your devices; retiring obsolete print equipment; disposing of underutilised machines; and upgrading where necessary to newer and more energy efficient technology in order to help maximise your print fleet and reduce your carbon footprint.
Need some tips on how you can get started on reducing your energy consumption? Here are some great print rules that you can enforce in the office:
- Double sided printing
- Black and white printing only
- Routing email to PDF format
- Only print what is necessary
- Use your printer’s sleep settings
4. Go Digital!
Although we know that most companies still rely heavily on printing, reducing your overall dependency on hard copies by adopting digital processes will significantly reduce your carbon footprint. With MPS, you have the option to implement an electronic system to scan documents directly and securely to the cloud for easy and secure storage and collaboration.
