The way technology is moving today; it is easy to think that people no longer need to print documents or purchase printers for the home or office. Yet, over and again, it is proven that consumers still show interest in print and paper.

For example, the use of mobile phones and digital cameras has grown fast. In many cases, it has shut down big photography businesses such as Kodak, CPI, and other film-related companies. Competition for providing the best digital camera technology is fierce. Recent ads for the latest mobile phones even focus on photographic capabilities, including nighttime capture and better representations of accurate skin tones. As a result, today’s youth are unlikely to experience the wait times and uncertainty typically associated with cameras that rely on film.

Yet, consumers still have an overwhelming desire to do more than view images on a screen. They want to hold them in their hands, stick them to walls, carry them around in their belongings, and share those same experiences with friends and family. They just don’t want to wait for it.

So, rather than the old school “take the image and get it developed” methodology, instant cameras have become the go-to for people looking for fast physical photos. Today, Polaroid cameras and the FujiFilm Instax are significant players in the consumer photography market. Polaroid representatives note younger customers enjoy their instant cameras and often take digital pictures of their instant photography prints to share on social.

But the human need for print goes beyond imagery. It also holds Ground as relevant in other aspects of the modern world. Here are three ways printers and printing continue to remain relevant.

People Still Buy Newspapers and Magazines

In the past, printed materials were an easy and commonly used way to pass information to the general public. While radio and news programs added to these avenues of communication, they were generally considered complimentary rather than competitive.

Today, many experts commonly assume social media and the internet have replaced print as complimentary news and entertainment avenues. But the truth is most consumers consider magazines and newspapers to be efficient and trustworthy sources of information. Over eighty-six percent of people trust printed news sources and consider them reputable resources.

Moreover, many people (63%) believe reading a printed story gives them a deeper understanding of the information they have taken in. Over ninety-two percent of individuals 18 to 23 agree that reading printed material is more accessible because it helps them concentrate.

For instance, it is easy to get distracted from an article on a mobile device by a message, call, or application notification. None of these distractions are available with the printed page. Gen Z, considered one of the most digitally savvy generations, believes reading offline has more significant benefits. Over half (61%) agree that engaging with printed materials is more enjoyable. Over 95% of youths even admit to reading magazines because they consider them relevant and important.

Printed Materials Help Promote Engagement and Health in the Workplace

Engaging staff in contributing to steering the business forward is a critical aspect of any company. Interestingly, using printed documents to help communicate data and generate input is usually easier than attempting to use digital sharing. Often, this can be chalked up to the technological gap. People in every age group have more difficulty or delay in using new software or have a hard time grasping new processes. But it also has to do with the tangibility of paper over digital.

A recent survey from NeoLAB Convergence Inc. confirmed that office professionals prefer taking pen and paper notes over using tablets and laptops during meetings. Over sixty-five percent of respondents stated the reason behind their preference was the ease and effectiveness of written notes. Moreover, ninety-five percent said they found it easier to remember notes they had written by hand than those they typed. Another seventy-five percent believe employees would enjoy and benefit from sharing handwritten notes, memos, and meeting information with and from their colleagues.

In addition to better communications, using printed presentations and handwritten notes in both meetings and interoffice note-sharing can help relieve employee eye fatigue. Studies have proven that computer monitors and indoor lighting often lead to long-term eye strain. Around fifty-to-ninety percent of office workers suffer from computer vision syndrome.

However, taking time to regularly look away from the screen and focus on other objects reduces fatigue and can improve long-term eye health. In addition, using a mix of printed and digital materials can encourage a variety of movement and eye focus, contributing to better employee health.

Printers Bridge the Gap Between Digital and Physical in the Office

Over sixty percent (64%) of business owners believe printers and printing will remain a critical element of doing business for the foreseeable future. After all, there are still packing slips, written notes, printed receipts, invoices, and many other pieces of documentation that need to be securely recorded and stored. And the best way to enter physical data into digital is through scanning.

But the longevity of printing can be attributed to more than transferring inherently physical documents. For example, printing and scanning make it easier for employees to share notes and memos. They also allow workers to print out documents, perform editing mark-ups or add commentary, and scan those notations back into the system for dissemination.

For hybrid and remote offices, the latest printers can be set up to accept mobile communications for printing. They may also allow employees to share scans with multiple participants via application or email. These functionalities make it easier to keep out-of-office workers in the loop and facilitate faster information sharing between office settings.

Despite the steady advance in technology, printers continue to hold their ground. Instead, new software and internet-friendly tools have allowed printing to develop unique benefits for the standard consumer and business office, including reduced eye strain, better communication, and improved trust in information. And as society continues to march forward, it is clear that commercial and professional print materials will play an sessential part in how people retain and communicate information.

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Response to the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. While some businesses saw the potential for permanent change and began adapting, others waited patiently for things to return to “normal.” Unfortunately, two years on, most major employers are discovering that “normal” may never be the same as back in 2019.

Despite governments relaxing most restrictions, the majority of employees expect to work remotely for at least a portion of their regular hours. Some would even take a pay cut of up to ten percent to stay at home. Today, a mere four percent of employers have plans to bring everyone back into the office full-time.

But a non-traditional workplace still needs to perform traditional tasks.

Keeping Up With Employee Communication

One of the biggest upsets for employers during lockdowns was ensuring an easy way for employees to continue communicating. Some businesses turned to group and individual chat applications. Others selected project organization platforms. But the most significant adoption rate throughout the pandemic was in video meeting technologies like Zoom.

In today’s ongoing remote work environment, video conferencing continues to be a large part of the technology mix. Even employees working in the office are still subject to video calls with clients, partners, and even internal individuals and departments. The continued popularity and prevalence of video conferencing is one of the big reasons many employees are still advocates for remote work. But, with so much of the workforce already transitioning to hybrid and remote work, “Zoom Calls” are quickly becoming seen as a necessary part of modern business.

And as employers continue to build up their hybrid and remote work programs, maintaining company culture has become a large part of the need to communicate. As a result, many human resources departments are working to find new ways to leverage Google, Zoom, and other platforms to build company cohesiveness. They use these systems to generate fun activities, provide training tools, and keep people informed.

Digital Still Hasn’t Replaced Basic Supplies

Whether working from the business office or your home office, employees still need pens, notepads, highlighters, pencils, and other essential supplies. Attempting to operate without their everyday office items has been shown to negatively affect productivity. Lower productivity leads to decreased profits for the business, which equals loss–and nobody has time for any more of that.

Offices with remote and hybrid workers are encouraged to continue providing the same supplies used in a full-time office. However, in situations where the expense of supplies for more than one location per employee is an issue, offering travel totes is an excellent solution. In addition, hybrid workers who typically share desk space with others are encouraged to keep their office essentials with them in either location. This practice both keeps the workspace clean for employees who share desks and ensures workers have access to all of the same materials no matter where they are.

On the other hand, what hybrid and remote offices are saving on stocking coffee, snacks, and other communal supplies can be easily funneled into providing the items needed for comfortable and productive work across locations. Items like sit-to-stand desks, quality headphones, and computer monitors are just a few of the supplies and equipment most likely to help employees perform their daily tasks efficiently.

Print Is Still Essential

Despite the new office environment’s big lean toward digital, printing and paper are still an expected and fundamental part of operations. Over half (64%) of organizations consider printing a critical function. Moreover, some experts consider printing and scanning even more essential to hybrid and remote offices.

Many workers prefer to make notes, red-line, and edit documents in a physical format. Visceral interaction with documentation has been proven to help employees understand and recall information. And being able to scan notes and documents into a digital format improves employee ability to store and share information effortlessly.

That is why office printer manufacturers are providing many new features that support the needs of hybrid and remote offices. These options are heavily weighted toward improved security to help IT departments meet data compliance. Security features include password access, data encryption, network authentication, stored data protection, and many others.

For the standard employee, there is a wide range of convenience options. Things like cloud capability and mobile printing are just a couple of the new services many of today’s latest printers offer.

Finance departments worried about the costs of new machines or the potential for increased monthly expenses can also benefit from the latest printer technologies. Higher workload capacities and lower running costs are just two features designed to make new printers more palatable to the pocketbook.

Companies looking to further manage costs and alleviate concerns around printer functionality and management also have options thanks to managed print services and other printer leasing and service businesses.

Today’s hybrid and remote work world presents new challenges for companies looking to lower costs while meeting the needs of their employees and clients. Fortunately, printer service partners, new printing technologies, office supply options, and communication technologies can help meet workers’ continued “traditional” needs – whether at home or in the office.

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3 Ways Service Businesses Benefit from Selling Online

Office print services are often very hands-on programs. Size of printers and positioning within the office setting are merely two of the essential considerations for efficient printer service. In addition, printer configurations can require on-site surveys, interviews with departmental managers, and information pulled from any current printing equipment. And after installation, maintenance and service also need in-person access.

Despite the very necessary in-person components for office printer services, taking advantage of online sales platforms can move a surprising number of day-to-day processes into the client’s capable hands. And these changes can not only save time and money but build better relationships and provide greater convenience for office print partners. Here are three ways office printer service businesses can benefit from embracing online sales.

Your business can be Available 24/7

Global e-commerce business-to-business (B2B) sales are expected to grow by approximately 17% and reach $1.8 trillion over the next few years. Online sales growth is beginning to play a larger role in how office printer businesses provide goods and services. As a result, many are jumping on the wave of eCommerce to improve business and increase profits.

One of the most significant ways online sales are helping office printer companies is by extending business hours beyond standard brick-and-mortar capabilities. Of course, physical stores must be watched over by actual employees. But online stores can be configured to respond to basic questions, provide standard information, and even take orders for goods and services at any time of day or night.

So, whether it is new client inquiries or current customers looking to order supplies and services, online sales platforms allow office printer services businesses to give clients access to their schedules. As a result, customers can shop when they need to rather than wait to make a call.

Making Maintenance and Service Scheduling Easier

Online buying and selling increase convenience not just for buyers but for the sellers too. One way they manage this is by making service and maintenance scheduling easier.

Online service scheduling can allow busy clients, like the growing number of Millennial IT managers, to use their computers or mobile devices to quickly address issues they are having with their office printers. But this online capability does more than make things faster and easier for the customer. Online scheduling also helps alleviate the number of calls routed to the customer service and scheduling desk.

With fewer phone calls, customers will encounter fewer wait times and have less reason to complain about terrible hold music. In addition, service representatives can stress less about lowering wait times and focus on managing more dire service issues as they happen.

As a bonus, scheduling requests made after hours can either be automatically scheduled or addressed first thing as the office opens. In either instance, customers are provided the ability to take action when their needs arise, alleviating stress and providing a better overall experience.

It’s Possible to Measure What Matters

Online sales platforms allow print service providers to measure just about anything. And that data enables companies to streamline their business more than ever before. For example, office print service providers can easily track their clients’ supply usage and order patterns using the latest technologies. This information allows for simpler management of ink, toner, and paper inventories. In addition, it provides accurate data to help negotiate with suppliers in ways that can lower costs and match the demands of their clients.

It is also easier to keep track of preferred service days and times as well as trends for when and how machines break down. This information can help create appropriate staffing for service technicians. It can also aid in determining more in-depth decisions on printer placement and parts ordering, and stocks.

Finally, tracking online ordering helps businesses manage supply availability and address the needs of current clients in a faster and more efficient manner. The information gathered about online activity, sales, and service provides managed print services and other office printing providers the data they need to help them understand client preferences. It also aids in determining general printing trends to help them make educated recommendations for supplies, printing practices, and maintenance scheduling for their clients.

Leveraging Online Sales Systems

Hands-on and in-person will always remain essential to the office print services business. But adding an online sales platform can prove to be an innovative and potentially lucrative opportunity for managed print services, printer leasing, and office printer maintenance businesses.

The vast amounts of information that can be collected coupled alone provide a range of opportunities to cater to the growing demand for self-service worldwide. Today’s IT managers and office administrators will quickly gravitate to online platforms to make their orders and address their needs independently at their convenience.

Regarding office print services, providing clients with an online sales platform positions businesses to meet client demands and, as a result, reap the rewards of more satisfied customers. Because a happy office print partner is more likely to stay loyal, provide positive feedback, and recommend their preferred partners to other companies.

Need to know more about creating your own e-commerce for Managed Print?  Check out Power MPS here

When it comes to printing, cutting costs is not just about the expensive printing machines. Buying, using, and disposing of printer paper can affect printing costs and either boost business efforts towards going green or undermine them.

Understanding the importance of proper paper handling can help business offices save time and money. Here are a few interesting facts about printer paper every office can use to help streamline office printing and tackle costs.

Wasted Pages Make a Big Impact on Company Costs

All those papers employees print out in the wrong color or format usually end up right in the waste bin. The same is true of items that are stapled incorrectly, jammed in the printer, or encounter some other printing mishap. But, despite printer paper purchases often being budgeted under miscellaneous spending, the numbers show not accounting correctly for paper spending might be a mistake.

Misprinted pages average $0.06 per piece of paper. While that price may look small, the dollars add up fast when considering some surprising usage facts.

• The average employee wastes about six pages per day
• Three-quarters of workers print internet content
• Nearly half of all pages printed in an office are discarded by the end of the day

While a single piece of office printer paper may be inexpensive, the volumes used by employees as a group get pricey. The typical U.S. business spends over $120B on printed forms, and a single document usually gets copied 9-11 times. Sadly, wasted printer paper contributes a large chunk to these costs. So, it is not surprising to see so many businesses looking for new ways to get a handle on their printing.

For Companies That Are Going Green, Paper Management is a Big Deal

Whether it is to meet consumer demand, tackle office waste costs, or genuine concern about environmental impact, many businesses are choosing to find new ways to “go green.” No matter what the reason for choosing a more environmentally friendly path, paper use is one of the spaces every office can benefit from managing.

A single ream of paper uses close to 6% of a tree, with an entire tree used to produce approximately 16.67 reams of paper. In addition, U.S. businesses consume around 24B reams of paper annually. As a result, American companies consume over 1.4B trees per year.

The trees are not the only thing impacted by office paper use. It takes around 11,134 kWh to produce 400 reams or one ton of paper. That is the same energy the average household uses over ten months. In addition to power, paper production generates thousands of gallons of wastewater, with one ton of printer paper contributing close to 19,000 gallons.

Managing office paper usage and reducing paper waste saves money on office paper purchases. One of the simplest ways to improve paper management is to take advantage of paper recycling.

Recycled paper production uses 43% less water and 26% less energy than new paper. Currently, around one-third of paper materials in the U.S. are generated with recycled paper. While purchasing recycled printer paper may not save the company money per sheet, the savings on water, energy, and tree consumption are more likely to help meet the long-term goals of any green initiatives.

Managed Print Services Can Help Control Paper Costs, Waste, and Recycling

Managed print services (MPS) and other office printing experts can help their business partners get a handle on their paper usage. In many cases, they can monitor printer usage by location, department, or even employee to assist their clients in creating a viable paper management plan.

Many businesses searching to go green or save money will seek new printer paper to use in their offices. But using the wrong paper in a printer is a recipe for disaster. Inkjet paper, for instance, will not work correctly in a laser printer. The type of paper used can also affect color vibrancy. In addition, the incorrect paper might cause additional paper jams or damage printer rollers, resulting in extra maintenance time and money. Fortunately, office printing providers like MPS have the knowledge and know-how to recommend the right paper solutions for their business partners.

In addition to paper types and use management, MPS and other office printer businesses usually offer paper waste solutions such as shredding and recycling. These programs can help control confidential information while allowing offices to handle the wasted paper they are bound to produce responsibly.

Paper is an essential part of how businesses are run and will likely remain a crucial material far into the future. Yet, the costs of unmanaged paper waste and high volumes of paper production can directly affect a business’s green initiatives and bottom line. Fortunately, office printer partners are available to help companies stay on track, provide budgeted solutions, and create a more lucrative relationship with office printer paper.

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Managed Print Services For The Incredible Shrinking Office

There was a time, not so long ago, when American businesses built and rented large office spaces. Those spaces were filled with windowed corner offices and conference rooms. Their main floors were segmented by cubicles and break rooms. And, of course, there was the copy room – filled with giant machines ready to service all of those employees.

The heyday of big office spaces lasted over three decades. They began in the 1960s and continued into the early 1990s. At the time, most new office spaces were calculated at around 500 to 700 square feet per employee.  You can find these large offices featured in cinemas such as “9 to 5” with Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin. “Die Hard,” starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman, is yet another film displaying the office style of the time. Even 1978’s Superman with Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve featured the sprawling businesses spaces of the time.

A New Way To Look At Office Work

With the growing use of computers and inter-office networking, the 90s saw rapid changes in how businesses saw office space. As a result, office designers began looking for ways to create a more collaborative office culture. The ultimate goal was to increase bonds between employees, reduce the number of meetings, and save money by reducing the space needed to house the business.

Most of these well-meaning office planners intended to eliminate meeting rooms, reducing down to the minimum required for hosting outside visitors or executive gatherings. After all, a more collaborative office space would mean less time sitting around looking at presentations, and brain-storming would happen on the main floors, right?

But the focus on collaboration often meant smaller cubicles or a completely open office. Break rooms saw a reduction to minor coffee service and food storage locations. And the copy room usually became an open-air central location for general office use. Overall, office space averages decreased by 9.8% by as early as 1994.

By late 2015 new office space was beginning to average around 200 square feet per employee. By 2019, it was closer to 150. Now, with the mass forced closures of 2020, organizations worldwide have begun to realize the march of technology has created an opportunity to shrink that allowed space even further.

Small Gets Smaller

Now, with so much monetary loss and uncertainty caused by fluctuations in trade and the global response to COVID-19, many companies are honestly looking at their office space with a critical eye on cost savings.

They’ve already been forced to spend money on cloud computing, VPNs, and the equipment needed to allow remote or hybrid work. Adding to this the overwhelming popularity of working from home and most CFOs (74%) are seriously considering letting a portion of their on-site workforce work remotely.

This opportunity to have a segment of employees operate in a hybrid manner or completely telecommute offers a wide range of savings, primarily for a much lower floor space requirement. Even accomodating those who are still on-site becomes less expensive when a business incorporates modular workstations, desk sharing, and flex scheduling.

As an added bonus, cloud computing makes the need for large server rooms much less of an issue. Instead of housing massive servers on-site, businesses can partner with large cloud service providers to provide storage, platform, networking, and processing power managed and secured off-site.

Less Office, Same Printing

But a smaller office does not necessarily equal fewer employees. Moreover, it doesn’t lead to less of a need to print. Instead, the printing environment for corporate businesses choosing smaller office spaces becomes more complicated. Instead of the large copy rooms or single open-area printing spaces, there is a growing need for a secure, networked infrastructure to manage equipment, consumables, and costs.

There is also a greater need for back-end security to avoid information breaches and viruses. But most of all, these new, stream-lined offices require printers with a smaller footprint that operate with the same efficiency, functionality, and reliability as much larger legacy printing hardware.

Fortunately, Managed Print Service (MPS) providers are available to take up the small office challenge. Originally designed to keep large office printer environments serviced and supplied, these organizations are pivoting smartly into this larger, networked printing space. In addition, they are partnering with manufacturers to source more modest printer sizes without sacrificing capability.

They are also partnering with robust online tools like PowerMPS to provide a complete suite of services for these new, smaller office spaces. Businesses using this strategic tool provide their corporate partners with features like a secure e-commerce storefront; online service and maintenance requests, subscription and as-needed ordering; and unique online and mobile printer usage reporting.

So, while the standard office continues to get smaller, MPS providers are ready to help their partners address the printing challenges head-on. And innovative MPS businesses are quickly working on assembling the equipment, tools, and solutions required to conquer the changing needs and printing challenges presented by today’s incredibly shrinking office.

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How Office Print Partners Help Your Business How Office Print Partners Help Your Business

Businesses are always looking for ways to reduce costs and increase profits without affecting the quality of products and services. Unfortunately, office printing is often one of the last pieces to be evaluated in these processes. Yet, it is one of the most important aspects of any business, directly affecting the flow of communication and overall business performance.

One of the simplest ways a business can reduce operating costs is by partnering with an office printing service provider. These companies leverage their in-depth knowledge of office printing, printer hardware, and printer servicing to help improve efficiencies for their business partners. Here are three significant ways businesses can benefit from office print services.

Businesses are Fighting Inflation

In today’s markets, inflation is rampant. And businesses are currently taking some of the most significant hits when it comes to the cost of labor and materials. Yet, companies of all sizes are often blamed for the rising prices as they attempt to keep up with the costs of their operations. The result is a battle on two fronts, managing customer opinion while trying to maintain a level of profit that supports the company.

Office printing is one of the many items that, though essential, contributes to the ongoing expenses of the business. And, just as with other aspects of operations, printing equipment, services, parts, and supplies are affected by ongoing microchip shortages, interrupted production, and increased demand. The result is spiking costs that make their way up the supply chain. But increasing efficiencies and streamlining printing processes can lower the impact office printing has on the business’s bottom line.

Improving Print Efficiencies

With their deep understanding of the office printing environment, printing service partners can work with their clients to provide a complete picture of the weaknesses within any office printing system. Some issues printing professionals often include:

• An imbalance in printer use. Often, some printers are overused while others sit idle. Office print partners help configure the office print setup to fit the use trends found within each of their client’s offices.
• Improperly configured printers. Machines not set up correctly often use too much ink and toner or have a more significant number of paper faults. Both situations can increase supply usage while wasting employee time. Print service partners configure machines to match the business’s needs and help optimize printer settings for optimal output – saving time and supplies.
• Increased energy consumption. Many offices end up buying too-large printers or too many machines for their office. Either situation quickly creates a draw that can easily raise energy bills for the office. Print service partners evaluate each office’s needs to determine the correct number and size of machines to help increase energy efficiency and improve general operations.

But operational enhancements are not the only way print service providers can help their office clients battle inflation.

Office Print Services Cut Costs

One of the best ways to address inflation’s impact on a company’s bottom line is to cut operating costs in as many aspects of a business as possible. Fortunately, there are several ways office print service partners can help lower the costs associated with office printing, including:

• Reduce or eliminate capital expenditure for office printers. Office-grade printers are not cheap. Even the lowest-level models can run several thousand dollars. However, many office print partners have ways to reduce or eliminate these expensive pieces of equipment from a business’s bottom line.

For companies who prefer to own their equipment, it is essential to understand individual office printing trends and requirements. Managed print services and other office printer businesses can help evaluate these needs to make recommendations for the least expensive, energy-efficient option rather than older, energy-consuming, and ink-guzzling hardware.

Another option is to lease the equipment rather than perform an outright purchase. Leasing offers several benefits, such as reducing ownership to a monthly fee rather than a hefty initial price tag. Additionally, you can draw up an agreement with your office print partner depending on the size and needs of your organization. Finally, it is possible to include the cost of a printer placement as part of the managed print services contract, further reducing operating costs.

• Lower ongoing printing costs. Printer hardware is the first step in an office’s ongoing printing needs. Proper maintenance and service are required to keep that hardware adequately configured and running at peak efficiency.

Partnering with an office printer services business can help offset some costs. In addition, many printer leases and managed print services contracts include a maintenance and service plan to help cover these necessities and reduce unexpected parts and labor expenses.

• Reduce printing supply costs. Many businesses rely on printing partners to handle equipment but turn elsewhere to source ink, toner, and printing paper. But many office print partners can manage more than hardware and maintenance.

The most advanced businesses in the office print industry can fully monitor supply usage and help their clients regulate their paper, ink, and toner usage. In addition, appropriate monitoring can give insights into how to configure printing equipment better to reduce waste and maximize the use of consumables.

While inflation continues to drive up costs and irritate consumers, there are ways for businesses to battle rising prices and benefit their companies. With the ability to streamline internal operations and reduce ongoing hardware and supply expenditure, partnering with an office print services company provides several options to help savvy businesses battle inflation.

The past couple of decades have pushed the limits of technological advancements. From the home computer launch to the internet’s adoption, the timelines for jumps in data use, software, and hardware capabilities have continued to shrink. Printer manufacturing and office printing services are no different. Just as has been seen in medicine, finance, agriculture, and many other industries, office printing is continually working to develop new, innovative ways to improve printing capabilities.

Through this continued technological advancement, office printing is now more efficient than ever. As a result, high-quality printed documents are more easily attainable, printed faster, and more vibrant than ever before. In addition, printing equipment is more energy-efficient, more interactive, and longer-lasting. But, just as the office space and business models are rapidly changing, office printing technology continues to evolve to better suit new corporate needs. Here are a few ways the office print industry is churning out technology designed to impress.

Artificial Intelligence Enters the Printing World

Human resources are irreplaceable. And, no matter how much technology advances, the employee workforce is still crucial in the office. But that doesn’t mean there is no space for new, improved artificial intelligence (AI) to create a more efficient workspace. For example, AI for printing can help improve a variety of tasks, including:

• Document Analysis. In the spirit of “going green” in the office, minimizing waste should be a priority when printing documents. The printing industry has designed AI capable of analyzing documents before they are printed to determine the type of formatting required to minimize toner, ink, and paper use. The result is a reduction in supply usage that generates nice long-term cost savings.
• Print Job Routing. Larger offices and businesses in legal, medicine, and finance that are heavy printers often run into the issue of time lost waiting for items to run through a print queue. Creating a more efficient system in these situations can lead to smoother workflows and better use of employee time. This is why some printer manufacturers have focused on developing AI to appropriately route print jobs for higher efficiency. For some companies, this could mean print jobs are automatically sent to the nearest idle machine. For others, the system could monitor print queue sizes and allocate jobs to devices based on anticipated print timelines.
• Improving Print Quality. Especially when investing in newer printer equipment, businesses expect the print quality to be higher than what they would receive from older printers. Advances in printer AI help monitor various components within the printer to adjust speeds, heat, and other factors to ensure clearer copies and more vibrant images while generating less waste in ink, toner, and paper.

Better Ink and Toner

When thinking of technological advancements in the print industry, most people might imagine smaller, faster printers. However, rarely does anyone consider the consumables used to create the print. But printer manufacturers constantly look for ways to improve ink and toner for newer machines.

There are various ways manufacturers are looking to improve the ink and toner used in today’s printers. One of those is to meet the demands of environmental conservation. Today’s ink and toner markets are looking to eliminate toxins, lower the use of chemicals, and reduce landfill waste. This is why many ink cartridges are now made with remanufactured materials, and there are a variety of vegetable-based, soy-based, and even algae-based inks.

Additionally, manufacturers are developing water-based inks that dry faster to eliminate the risk of fuzzy images and text. These inks produce clearer, crisper prints and copies perfect for sales presentations and documents heavy in text.

Advanced Inkjet Printing Speeds

When it comes to circulating information in the office, timeliness is everything. The faster a document can print, the quicker it can be sent to all parties of interest and get on with other business activities. In this respect, laser printers have proven to be the consistent winner.

Today manufacturers are working hard on new ways to advance the speeds of inkjet printers. Brother has released inkjet models that print up to 22 pages per minute. HP has options that can produce prints at up to 70 pages per minute.

Integration With Other Services and Technologies

Integration is an essential aspect of any technological advancement. Without the integration of services, printers will be stuck in the pre-digital era. So, it is no surprise that printing manufacturers and service providers are working hard to create connections that make office printing more efficient and effective for today’s business environments.

With so many hybrid office setups and the slow re-introduction of business meetings and events, mobile is considered one of the best integrations for office printers. So, the print industry is working hard to develop and implement technologies that make it easier for office printers to accept print requests and share scanned files with mobile devices.

Another up-and-coming integration is voice-activated printing. Rather than searching for a file and manually choosing print settings, voice-activated printing could allow users to tell the system the document, color, size, and the number of copies – all with a voice command.

In today’s fast-paced technological development environment, keeping pace with business needs is key to staying efficient and relevant. With mobile integration, voice activation, artificial intelligence, and faster, clearer printing, the office printing industry is clearly up to the challenge. And there is no telling what new technologies printer manufacturers and printing services will develop next.

Futuristic science-fiction films and series primarily differ in politics, outlook, and technology. But they almost all have one thing in common, paper is practically non-existent. Rather than paper currency, the residents of the future use cards, chips, or codes to access digital funds.

Even the offices and workspaces are highly digitized, with records, agreements, and communications all held in computers. Access to this information is through fancy-looking tablets or floating holograms.

While all of this looks amazing, it is hardly practical. Yet, despite these visions of a paper-free world, there are many reasons physical documentation is here to stay.

The Security Issues with Going Paperless

Paper filing systems are large, cumbersome, and take up too much space. But, in today’s technological world, they are also broadly safer than digital filing systems. Today criminals have developed a wide range of tactics to gain access to anything stored on company servers, including pretending to be someone within the company or a person of importance to trick loyal employees. The same level of access is much harder to gain in person. So, while carrying company files on a tablet may seem convenient, are the risks worth it?

Admittedly, security for digital files has come a long way in the past decade. But hackers are constantly coming up with new and creative ways to access those documents. Unfortunately, their innovations regularly test the most vulnerable points in any company and often find the weaknesses they require. And too often, data breaches aren’t detected until it’s too late.

On the other hand, paper files are much harder to access and far more likely to be noticed should they go missing. This is why so many businesses still rely heavily on paper documentation for personal notes, contracts, and legal and financial documents. While having digital versions scanned and stored is a good idea for easy shareability with clients, paper documentation is a vital backup to keep hackers from holding information hostage.

Lack of Access/ Loss of Information

When filed correctly, paper documentation provides reliable accessibility. Simply enter the file room or open the appropriate drawer to view the file needed. Digital files, on the other hand, require internet and server-specific access. So, should the internet go down, the electricity goes out, or a server crash occurs, access to any electronic files can be temporarily halted.

Some of these emergencies can do far more than block access; electrical outages or surges can cause issues with sensitive computer and server equipment, leading to data losses. Other increasingly common problems such as malware, hacking, computer viruses, and general user error can all result in files being corrupted or deleted from the system.

Paper files, if only as a backup system, are a reliable alternative to keep business information safe and accessible in times of crisis. In particular, legal, finance, and medical facilities should maintain a hard copy database to avoid losing important data and hiccups when serving customers.

Paper Remains Part of Business Workflows

According to Wakefield research and Infotrends, 73% of businesses with less than 500 employees print at least four times daily. But the trend is not limited to smaller companies. Even medium and large businesses depend on paper for a variety of uses, including:

• Personal notes
• Copies of necessary documentation such as resumes and recommendation letters
• Work calendars
• Documentation for team-building trips and brainstorming sessions
• Notes during hiring interviews or in case of complaints to human resources

Larger businesses especially enjoy using paper for items that are unlikely to be kept long-term. Things like notes, documentation that is likely to become redundant, document mark-ups, vendor or client presentations, and other short-term items are usually printed or written down with no intent to place them in long-term storage. Scanning these items into a digital format would waste time and server space.

So, while science fiction envisions a paperless future for all of human society, even the most prominent businesses have trouble eliminating paper from their processes. Paper as it was once known, used, and loved may well be over. But the need for its existence and use to keep businesses running smoothly is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

Remote transition from office to home (or remote office) has evolved rapidly over the last year. According to Buffer research, almost 98% of people surveyed shared that they would prefer to work remotely, at least part of the time, over the remainder of their career. And if employers are going to keep employees, they will need to focus on fitting a new demand to prevent losing those they do manage to entice into the fold.

Managed print services are a go-to way of ensuring workers are comfortable working away from the office while companies continue to run as usual with no imminent challenges. They provide efficiency, and productivity, and are able to provide information security while managing the organization’s printing needs.

Print Services Can Consolidate Costs and Improve Security.

Regular consumer printers can expose businesses to the potential risks of cybercrime. Unsecured ports and consumer wi-fi connections can offer criminals tempting backroads into a company’s servers. Even less nefarious hackers can pull potentially sensitive data from the average printer’s hard drive. Managed print services providers have the expertise and technology to identify the printer security threats a company faces – and implement measures to mitigate those risks efficiently and effectively.

Some of the options print service providers recommend include printer password logins or scheduled hard drive wiping. But the best option is to ensure each remote workspace is using a networked printer for all of their business-related printing needs. When properly monitored and serviced, these networked machines will provide a wealth of additional security to prevent threats

But it’s not only security that benefits from partnering with a managed print services provider. Most of these expert office printer businesses can help consolidate the expenses of hardware and maintenance, as well. By bundling the entirety of printing services into a single monthly payment, the worry of upfront capital expenditures is eliminated. And, rather than being concerned about ongoing service and maintenance fees, many of these printing partners include typical maintenance and parts in their monthly plans. The result is an easy-to-predict monthly cost.

Managed Print Services Can Help With Employee Retention

According to research by Marketplace,org organizations are facing difficulties hiring (and keeping) workers. Many workers quit their jobs because of low pay. And it is hard to replace them. Employers can help address this problem by giving workers quality standard working environments and other possible benefits that would streamline work communications.

Multi-functional managed print services are part of providing employee comfort by providing fast, efficient, modern equipment for printing, scanning, and other selected printer functions. But it goes beyond what the hardware itself can provide. Managed print services partners also offer easy-to-access customer service, troubleshooting, and service to remote workers – without the need to wait on or trouble their companies already busy IT department.

Managed Print Services Know how to Handle More Locations

Many business offices would rely on the IT department to manage on-site printers for the company. Allowing staff to address minor fixes and updates could, in some instances, save time and money. The same is not true in the new remote work environment.

Managed print services have experience and expertise in providing service to multiple offices within a specific area. And, in addition to their capabilities of maintenance to more than one location, many of these businesses load specialized performance monitoring software configurations onto each of the machines for which they are responsible. This software provides insights into individual machine usage and errors that allow the print service provider to keep printers running better through increased response times and faster analysis when things go wrong.

Businesses who work with an expert printer services business can save on time and money while reducing employee frustrations (both in-house and remote). The result is an increase in the business productivity without the need for accountants or anyone else to gain experience in IT and troubleshooting. And, with built-in security measures, partnering businesses can relieve the stress of many printer-related threats. For business working to fit the needs of employees in this rapidly changing office environment, managed print services are a fast and effective way to tackle business needs.