If someone were to ask you how much your organization spends on printing every year, would you know the answer? Would you know whether your employees are having a positive or negative experience with printing? Although some of you may know these answers, there are a lot of organizations that don’t ask these questions and as a result lose productivity and pay more than necessary. A print assessment is the first step in resolving these issues, which makes it an important step for organizations of any size to take.
What is a Print Assessment?
A print assessment is a process where, typically, an outside organization reviews your current print solution(s) and tries to identify areas that may be causing problems, such as reduced productivity and unnecessary costs.
This process involves deploying print management software, completing a walk-through of your organization to map out where all your devices are, interviewing employees, and collecting other vital information regarding your print solution(s). The goal of a print assessment is to be able to create a more optimal solution that tends to lead to reduced costs, more sustainability, and increased productivity.
Data Drives Success
Another way to think of a print assessment is to think of it as collecting data. In the scientific method we all learned in school as children, data is collected and used to try and learn more about something or improve it. The same can be said about a print assessment. The data gathered in a print assessment serves as way to learn more about your specific print environment and solution with the goal of optimizing it.
Often, organizations have more devices than they need, aren’t aware of any user experience issues, and don’t have strong sustainable printing policies. All of these are issues that can be identified in a thorough print assessment.
What is Collected in a Print Assessment?
A print assessment is a key step in creating the perfect managed print solution, and the more thorough the print assessment is, the better the solution will be. If a print assessment is done correctly there is a lot of different information gathered, however for sake of simplicity, most print assessments will gather this information:
- Device information including number of devices, make and model of devices, and device requirements (ie. Production presses, multifunction devices, or desktop printers)
- Software information including what software is currently installed, what software is actually used, and if there are any compatibility issues
- Compliance information regarding things such as HIPAA requirements or other compliance related policies and practices
- Financial information including current costs associated with printing such as toner and other consumables cost and financial goals with printing
- Mapping of devices in your building(s)
- Security information related to printing and printing devices
Next Steps
After data is collected a plan begins to be drafted. The goal of the plan is to eliminate and mitigate any existing issues with your current print solution and optimize your print environment. This includes removing unnecessary devices, installing print management software, putting machines in strategic places where they will get optimal usage so that no productivity is lost, and more. The plan is created by document imaging and managed print experts with the goal of reducing costs, increasing productivity, and establishing a more sustainable print environment.
Once a plan is drafted it will be presented to your organization. From here the plan is either approved, or revisions are made until the plan is agreed upon by both parties. Once the plan is good to go, implementation begins.
Implementation is when older devices are removed, and new devices are installed. This step takes a varying amount of time and depends heavily on how many devices are being replaced and when a good time would be for your organization to make the change. Once new devices are installed, your staff will be trained on each device.
Finally, after implementation, there is a period of time where more data is collected and management is monitored. This step is to see how the new solution is working, are there any kinks that need to be worked out, or is the solution running smoothly. Once some time has passed, we’ll meet with you again to see how the solution is working out for you and if there are any further areas that can be improved upon. The goal is to continually optimize while you grow, and this requires checking in regularly.
The Benefits of a Print Assessment
A print assessment is the first step in identifying and fixing any issues within your print environment. The key benefits of a print assessment are more insight, better management, cost reduction, increased productivity, and more sustainability. Better insight means that you clearly understand where your printing solution is with cost and print volume. Better management drives reduced costs, more productivity, and better sustainability, which all work in tandem to promote growth for your organization.
If you’d like to schedule a print assessment and see where your printing solution currently stands, click the link below: