Guest blog post by DJ Jandl, our Director of Digital Imaging Solutions at Lewan Technology.
I’m often asked by our customers how to save on costs related to printing, copying and faxing. One of the easiest solutions to implement, with cost savings realized almost right out of the gate, is Print Governance. Last post, I shared WHAT Print Governance is and WHY it's an important solution for businesses of any size to implement. Now let's talk about the HOW with the top features and benefits.
Gartner research has found that companies spend an average of 1-3% of annual revenue on document output costs. A Print Governance solution can save 20-40% of that spend.
So now that we have established what Print Governance can do and the potential cost savings, what are some other benefits of a Print Governance solution and how we get to that 20-40% savings?
Top 10 Print Governance Features & Benefits
1. Understand print volume in a way that makes sense for your business.
Gain visibility into your print environment with reporting that breaks down print, copy, scan and fax volumes by users, departments, applications, documents, environmental impact and transactional data.
2. Set rules to help end users make smart printing choices.
If they have to print it out, makes sure they’re printing to the lowest cost output device in the lowest cost way by setting rules that default to duplex and black print instead of single side and full color.
3. Makes sure the right devices are in the right locations and with the right services.
Track your highest and lowest print volume devices to make sure the right optimization strategy is in place to keep costs down.
4. Eliminate the need for a local computer to print sensitive documents.
A local printer is cabled to a single computer, not wirelessly networked to a central printer shared by multiple computers. With print governance you can securely route documents to a lower cost networked multi-function device (MFD) and release them with PIN or proximity badge.
Local printers generally cost 3–4X more in maintinence and supply costs than a networked MFD.
5. Minimize waste at the MFD with secure print release.
On average 10% of print jobs are never picked up from the device. Secure print release eliminates this paper waste because jobs remain in the queue until released with a PIN or proximity badge.
6. Manage webpage and email printing.
18% of total print volume originates from web browsers that doesn’t need printed in color. When a user prints from a web browser or email application, serve them a pop-up you message asking them to print in black and white or duplex instead of color or single sided to save on unnecessary costs.
7. Print on the go right from your mobile phone.
Print from a web interface with login and password or by email, directly from your Apple or Android smart phone or tablet.
8. Bill back for client related printing.
Charge your clients for the printing or copying you do on their behalf by setting up project codes (construction, engineering, architecture), matter numbers (legal) or personal printing so your organization can recover the cost of printing related to these processes.
9. Secure print release at any participating MFD.
Using the Secure Print feature, users can go to File > Print from most applications and pick up the job on any participating device. This is commonly called Follow-You or Find-Me printing.
10. No more scrolling through all the print jobs in the queue to find yours.
Walk up to the device with a PIN or proximity badge and release just your jobs instantly. Or if you are setup as a delegate, release jobs for another person.
What do you think? A lot of handy features. Best of all, once you've setup these Print Governance features, the typical return on investment averages 2-4 months.
So what software applications would I recommend to implement a Print Governance solution?
We'll cover the Top 5 Print Governance Solutions Providers in a final post next week.
Not sure if Print Governance is the right option for your business? 
for a complimentary assessment and recommended next steps to implement printing policies or other document workflow solutions that can save money and help improve efficiency, security and business processes.
