Ninety percent of small-to-medium sized businesses nationwide consider their business printer to be indispensable or important, and rely more on printing than any other size company, according to the OKI Printing Solutions “Future of Printing Survey.” While bringing printing in-house is growing in popularity, the management of printers and printer costs are falling to the wayside costing companies a significant amount of annual revenue and taking away from overall profitability. Companies working on limited budgets are most affected by unmanaged printer operations. However, the OKI Printing Solutions survey confirmed that printing is a core function of every SMB office. To better streamline costs, companies must understand workflow management and incorporate processes that increase efficiency.

Key results from the survey included:

More than half of SMBs expect to print about the same amount or more often in the future as they do today

Seventy-seven percent of SMBs still prefer to review printed documents, whether in combination with reviewing on-screen or alone

Respondents at small businesses report a higher percentage of non-work jobs printed than those at other company sizes (15 percent versus seven percent at large companies), adding to higher printing costs

To ensure that print operations support profitable company revenue and efficient workflow, SMBs should consider the following five steps:

• Invest in a print managed services program. A managed services assessment will educate SMBs on their printer use and total costs, opening the door for adoption of new management tactics. OKI Data Americas offers the most comprehensive and objective program in the industry, using 47 criteria to analyze printing infrastructures and the factors driving those costs.
• Monitor printing activity. With proper management, the perception that color printing can be costly will be diminished. Many product features and software tools will help monitor color usage and control color access. OKI Printing Solutions, for instance, offers software tools free with printer purchases, like Job Accounting, to track color printing costs and monitor and control print usage.
• Incorporate MFPs into the printer fleet. Multi-function printers are