Multifunction Printers – The Key to a Safer and More Efficient Office

Print wastage is a huge problem for businesses. It can cost thousands of dollars per year, which is why institutions like Tulane University have special waste control systems in place to stop students from printing more than they need. But what about your small business? You may not be able to afford a waste control system, but you still need a way to monitor what your people are doing with the multitude of printers, copiers, and scanners in your office. The solution? Produce your documents on one device with a multifunction printer (MFP).

What Is a Multifunction Printer?

The name gives the game away when it comes to what a multifunction printer does – it brings printing, scanning, and copying capabilities into one machine.

The idea is to simplify your workflow. When you have multiple devices, all with different functions, your office can be a confusing place for your employees. Documents get sent to the wrong device, paper gets wasted, and your staff has to troubleshoot slow and outdated equipment.

By consolidating all of your print needs into a single device, you simplify the office workflow.

The Breakdown – Why Do You Need a Multifunction Printer

Multifunction printer retailers often talk about the increased efficiency and greater security that comes from replacing your old devices with a modern MFP. But what are the benefits in practice?

Benefit 1 – Increased Convenience

Print wastage isn’t all about consumables.

Of course, you want to keep the cost of paper and ink down, but it’s also worth thinking about the time it takes for your people to bounce between different devices. For example, imagine that an employee has to print a document, which they then need to copy multiple times before faxing a copy to a client.

Those are three different jobs. And if you have a printer, copier, and fax machine in a spread-out office, your employee has to waste time walking between each device to do those jobs. What seems like a small amount of wasted time soon adds up when you realize that most of your people do these multi-device shuffles daily.

Not with a multifunction printer.

Your people can handle all of their printing, copying, scanning, and faxing needs in one place, making them more efficient and giving them back time they can dedicate to other tasks.

Benefit 2 – Improved Cybersecurity

According to Statista, the average cost of a data breach in 2022 was $9.44 million.

Granted, those figures come from a survey of 550 companies, but they highlight a problem that’s exacerbated when you have multiple devices – cybersecurity issues.

Consider the fact that every printer, copier, and scanner in your office is a data source. Every device is connected to your network, meaning each one is vulnerable to hackers who are working to get beyond your defenses to access the data those devices store.

In essence, you’re giving those malicious parties more points of access.

By introducing a multifunction printer into your office, you reduce the device-based points of access a hacker may have to one rather than three or four. That’s not to say that your cybersecurity worries are over. A multifunction printer needs protection via a good cybersecurity plan just as much as any other device connected to your network. But by using an MFP, you essentially close a few windows that hackers could use to sneak into your network, thus lowering the possibility of data breaches.

Benefit 3 – Centralized Analytics

Do you remember the multi-device shuffle your employees have to perform if they need to print, copy, and fax a document?

You have to perform that same shuffle whenever you need to check the usage stats for each of your office’s devices. That could take hours as you bounce from device to device, using different access codes and grappling with varying dashboards just to find out how much paper and ink your people used for the month.

In this respect, the very same convenience that saves time for your people in active use of a multifunction printer also saves you time in analyzing that use. You centralize the analytics to one device, meaning you only have to learn how to read one set of stats to get an idea of your print usage.

Better yet – many modern MFPs have alert and notification systems that tell you when usage goes beyond expected levels.

Benefit 4 – Lower Office Operating Costs

A single commercial printer can use as much as 500 watts of power when printing. Multiply that across several devices, including copiers and scanners, and you have a power consumption behemoth that’s costing your business hundreds of dollars in energy bills every month.

There lies another source of waste.

By installing a multifunction printer, you actively reduce the number of devices you have hooked up to your office’s power system. The effects may not be visible immediately. But over time, you’ll usually find that your electricity usage decreases dramatically. So, you’re not only driving efficiency in terms of saving time for your people and getting better access to analytics. You’re also making the office more efficient from a power-usage perspective, which is great both for saving on your bills and when marketing your company as one that cares about sustainability.

Drive Office Efficiency With a Multifunction Printer

“Efficiency” can mean many things to your business.

It may mean saving time for your people by cutting down on the number of devices in your office, simplifying workflows, and making it easier for employees to do their jobs. Or, “efficiency” may be about saving money in any way you can through lowering energy bills and tackling direct waste related to printing consumables.

To some, efficiency is simple – make it easier for your cybersecurity team to deflect attacks by reducing the number of devices they have to defend.

In all cases, a multifunction printer can drive efficiency, bringing your office squarely into the 21st century. And if you’d like to learn how, Duplicator Sales & Services is here to help businesses in Louisville, Elizabethtown, Lexington, London, and Paducah find the MFPs that make them more efficient. Get in touch and we’ll be happy to provide a quote for your new multifunction printer.