Introduction
As your business responds to a new wave of investor expectations and consumers, sustainability continues to climb up the ladder of corporate strategy. As governments across the world introduce changes based on the cartoon footprint of organisations, it is essential that your organisation gains control of its energy usage and ensures effective optimization wherever possible.
What is sustainability, and how does it link to print management?
Sustainability means utilising natural resources for our needs and saving them for future generations at the same time. The printing industry uses a lot of natural resources. Technological threats, economic concerns and uncertain futures have led to a crisis in the industry and it is now essential to reduce wastage and find more ways to make the industry sustainable.
Is your company’s print output sustainable?
Before you learn the tips to make your managed print services more sustainable, you first need to figure out whether your print output is sustainable. Most companies are unaware that printing and copying contribute to their carbon footprint. If your company prints materials for marketing purposes like printing the menu for a restaurant or printing books or has other printing needs, then opting for green printing practices is the best way to implement sustainability.
Five steps to make your print output more sustainable
● Prioritise e-documents over paper: e-documents reduce carbon footprint significantly. You can also use scan-to-email technology to distribute documents electronically.
● Analyse and optimise printers: You can assess the usage pattern and the positions of the devices placed in your office and minimise under-utilised printers and fax machines.
● Print on demand: Only print when and where necessary, instead of printing a large amount of matter beforehand only to find out it wasn’t necessary.
● Recycling printers and cartridges: You can initiate a great cartridge and product recycling program in your company. You can use the plastic from used printers and toner and ink cartridges to remanufacture products or reuse the materials entirely new.
Five tips to increase sustainability in managed print services
● Reduce wastage of paper: Unmindful use of paper impacts the environment significantly. Even if your company has an excellent paper recycling program, much energy, money and time are still spent on transportation, recycling, etc. You can reduce unnecessary paper consumption by educating your employees about it. Small actions have a big impact on the environment. It would help if you encourage your employees to make small changes in their day-to-day life to reduce the use of paper. For example, you can use both sides of the paper to print information. Or share and reuse documents and prioritise emails over print wherever possible.
● Digitise your documents: An increasing number of companies are going paperless these days. This is great for sustainability in the print industry, efficiency and even cost management. You can reduce paper wastage by encouraging employees to shift from traditional paper-heavy workflows to a digital, cloud-based solution. You don’t need to buy software to increase digitalization in your company significantly. You can make PDFs or PowerPoint presentations instead of printing information on paper for onboarding documents, meetings, etc.
● Use products that take up less power: Copy devices and printers can consume much energy. It is not just bad for the environment, but also for your company’s electricity bill. These products are continuously evolving to deliver the best results while using less energy. So you should use the latest technology with energy-saving modes that put devices to sleep when you are not using them. Instead of using many devices like a printing machine, a copying machine and a fax machine, opt for all-in-one options.
● Stop using older products: Older products can be more expensive to operate, require more repairs and maintenance, are not very reliable and can also be a safety and security hazard. Older devices lack sleep modes that save energy and use LEDs instead of lasers. They lack the technology that carefully controls the fusing temperatures.
● Eco-friendly printing: You will be surprised to know that eco-friendly printing is possible. There are several aspects of printing that are not suitable for the environment, like the ink and toner used, the printing substrates or the media and the waste generated by printing. Therefore, it would be best if you opted for eco-friendly printing methods like avoiding using plastic-based substrates or PVC to print on, avoiding lamination and coating of prints when not required, and avoiding printing till the colour matching is right. In the end, try and avoid using printers altogether unless it is necessary to do so.
Importance of sustainability and steps you can take to integrate sustainability into your print service
● Printing is an established office routine that often goes unexamined. Excessive usage of paper causes deforestation and contributes to many environmental issues such as increasing landfill volumes that affect the soil, air and water.
● It would help if you made some extra effort to opt for more sustainable methods in your company. WeP digital managed print services help you do just that! They securely work your printing services and give you time to grow your business.
● WeP digital managed print services help your organization improve your print infrastructure without needing any capital investment. Printers are installed at your company, and commercials are on a ‘Pay per page’ and ‘Fixed monthly rental’ basis.
● Your managed print services provider will conduct a printing assessment to improve your organisation’s operational processes. They will also make sure your company increases control over usage, keeps in mind the environmental benefits, and significantly reduces costs. Managed print solutions will help you control and boost your network visibility to ensure that only documents authorised by your company go into printing.
Key Takeaways
Most companies are unaware of the carbon footprint their printing operations create, which is why they continue wasteful printing and outdated devices. It would help if you took simple measures such as enforcing duplex printing across your organization and adopting energy-efficient appliances. A sustainable print infrastructure will reduce costs, improve your organization’s environmental credentials and improve productivity.