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Did you know that the average employee prints 34 pages a day? And of those 34 pages, 17% of them go to waste?
That statistic, courtesy of Offix, is one of the reasons why you could be overpaying for printing.
Most businesses, schools, and organizations spend more on printing than they realize. And it’s not just paper that’s wasted; it’s also time, supplies, and avoidable service headaches.
With unmanaged printing expenses eating up as much as 3% of a company’s annual revenue, it’s clear that this is an opportunity to improve your business’s bottom line.
At STPT, we’ve spent nearly 40 years helping companies get their printing under control. And in that time, we’ve seen the same three problems crop up again and again behind inflated printing bills.
This blog breaks them down and gives you real, straightforward solutions you can start using to get things back on track. Whether you’re running an office, a school district, or a medical practice, this is your starting point for smarter, more sustainable printing.
Table of Contents
- Color Prints Cost More Than You Think
- Overprinting and Wasted Pages
- Cheaper Printers Are Expensive to Own
- Your Print Costs Aren’t Set in Stone
The 3 Most Common Reasons You're Overpaying for Printing
1. Color Prints Cost More Than You Think
The number one reason you could be overpaying for printing is that your prints might be mistakenly registering as color prints rather than black and white.
Many office printers default to color even when it’s not needed. Things like email signatures, small logos, or hyperlinks can trick a device into reading the job as “color” and charging accordingly.
Here’s some perspective:
- Average cost per black & white print: $0.017
- Average cost per color print: $0.20
That might not seem like much until you multiply it by hundreds (or thousands) of color prints that could have easily been black and white.
The Solution:
- Set B&W as your default at both the machine and printer driver
- Use tools like Xerox User Permissions to restrict certain websites or documents from printing in color.
- Explore Color Tracking or similar features if available on your MFP
If you want a more advanced solution, consider investing in print management software like PaperCut or Y Soft SAFEQ. These platforms give you full visibility into who’s printing what, and in what color, so you can catch patterns, set limits, and control costs. We’ll discuss this in more detail below.
2. Overprinting and Wasted Pages
As we stated earlier, the average employee prints 34 pages per day, and 17% of those go to waste. That’s roughly six pages per person, per day, landing in the trash, forgotten in a print tray, or tossed during the next desk clean-up. Sure, you might have a print policy in place, but are you so sure everybody is following it?
Look around your office for signs of wasteful printing habits. These include bins full of abandoned documents, color-heavy email printouts, and meeting handouts that no one reads twice. It all adds up quickly.
The Solution:
The best way to track and analyze office and individual printing habits is to implement print management software. These platforms offer:
- User-level tracking (see who’s printing and how much)
- The ability to set print limits or quotas
- Secure print release (to reduce unclaimed jobs)
- Tools to redirect unnecessary prints to digital workflows
When you can see what’s being printed and by whom, you can start making better data-driven decisions. And more importantly, your team becomes more mindful just by knowing their habits are visible.
3. Cheaper Printers Are Expensive to Own
It’s easy to think you’re saving money when purchasing a cheap printer from a retail giant. A printer for $200 on Amazon or at a big-box store feels like a win, until you realize it’s costing you more in supplies, service, and downtime.
While retail machines are good choices for those who need a printer on an as-needed basis, they can end up costing you in the future if your retail option can’t handle your monthly print volume.
Want to compare options? Read our blog on 3 Problems With Buying Retail Printers Instead of Commercial Printers to see the bigger picture.
Let’s delve further into why those budget machines might be draining your budget:
Toner Replacements
Retail printers don’t come with automatic toner shipments. This means if you buy retail, you’re stuck buying individual toner cartridges at full price, often in a pinch. Not only is that more expensive, it’s also inefficient.
With a commercial printer and a Managed Print Services (MPS) plan, like STPT’s e-valet, you can get automatic toner shipments based on real usage. It’s often included in a service or maintenance plan as well, and it keeps you stocked without the scramble or the markup.
To learn more about how MPS can benefit your business, read our blog on 5 Reasons You Need Managed Print Services.
Service Repairs
Retail printers are designed to be replaced, not repaired. If something breaks, you either spend hours troubleshooting yourself or pay $100+/hour to a technician, which is often more than what you paid for the machine itself.
Commercial MFPs, on the other hand, typically include a maintenance plan (often $20/month or less) that covers onsite service, trained techs, and peace of mind.
Check out our blog on the Benefits of Investing in a Maintenance Plan to learn more.
Cost Per Copy
In addition to higher supply and service costs, retail printers typically have a higher cost per copy than commercial printers.
Here’s a quick breakdown of long-term cost:
- Retail B&W: ~$0.035 per print
- Retail Color: ~$0.30 per print
- Commercial MFP B&W: ~$0.017
- Commercial MFP Color: ~$0.02
If you’re printing at any kind of regular volume, those extra cents per page snowball fast.
In short, the cheaper printer might only seem cheaper. For a full breakdown of purchase and ownership costs, check out How Much Does a Printer/Copier Cost?
Your Print Costs Aren’t Set in Stone
If you’re still relying on retail printers or using commercial devices without proper controls, you’re probably overpaying. But it doesn’t have to stay this way.
The most effective way to bring your printing costs back under control is to start thinking about your entire print environment and not just individual machines.
Solutions like Managed Print Services (MPS) or Print Management Software can help.
At STPT, our e-valet MPS program helps businesses take back control through:
- Automatic toner shipments
- Ongoing maintenance and service
- Device monitoring and reporting
- Streamlined workflows
- Consolidated billing
If you’re not ready to jump into a full MPS contract, download our Free Print Management Tool. It’s a great first step to uncovering hidden issues and understanding if MPS, software, or both are the right next move.
Ready to Regain Control of Your Print Costs?
You don’t need to overhaul your entire print setup overnight. But you do need a clear understanding of where your money is going and how to stop the leaks.
Whether it’s fixing accidental color prints, tracking usage more effectively, or moving away from consumer-grade printers that can’t keep up, every step helps.
Download Our Free Print Management Tool to start seeing your entire print environment at a glance. From there, we can help you take the next step toward smarter, more controlled, and cost-efficient printing.
