Print Shop: Managed Services Deliver Cost Savings and Control
Call it the quietest million you’ll ever spend. We’re talking about printing, and the numbers are staggering: The EPA estimates that in the United States, a sheet has less than a 5% chance of containing recycled fibers and a 50% chance of landing in a landfill or an incinerator. The average office employee uses 27 pounds of paper per year. More than 40% of trees cut down by loggers are used for paper—9% of that from old growth.
Now, we’re not going totally paperless this decade. But the fact is, despite periodic efforts to contain printing costs, many large enterprises still spend too much and get too little. It doesn’t need to be that way. Highly managed printing can benefit the budget, sure, but it can also positively impact customer intimacy and the environment, minimize security risks, and streamline business processes.
Or say it’s time to generate quarterly reports or new manuals; do you go to an offset printer and buy more than you want, with less customization than you’d like? Today’s printing technology allows enterprises to print high-quality books and reports in microbatches, tailored to meet various needs.
We polled nearly 200 business technology professionals, 79% of them from companies with 10,000 or more employees and 62% with revenue of $5 billion and up, about how they’re managing their organizations' printing needs. We also explore two case studies and discuss relevant factors for IT teams looking to evaluate outsourced and managed print offerings. What have you got to lose, except overflowing recycle bins? (R3220911)
Survey Name: InformationWeek Printing Options Survey
Survey Date: July 2011
Region: North America
Number of Respondents: 199, from organizations with $500 million or more in revenue (or who declined to disclose) and 500 or more employees
Table of Contents
4 Author’s Bio
5 Executive Summary
6 Research Synopsis
7 Saving Money, and the Planet
8 What We Want
12 Security Central
14 What’s Measured Matters
16 Outsourcing Options
18 Appendix
22 Related Reports
About the Author
Debra Donston-Miller has been covering technology and its impact on business (and vice versa) for more than 20 years. She was formerly editor of eWEEK and executive editorial director of eWEEK Labs.
She can be reached at debra.donstonmiller@gmail.com.
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