Consolidating Printers and Remote Printer Monitoring
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@dbeato said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
It is common, however just make sure when they configure only the Static IP of the printers to be picking them up. Also make sure the SNMP community is not public (also none of your devices should have that).
I should ask them about this. I am guessing that all the printers are going to have to be networked now.
They aren't currently? Which printers are you looking at having maintenance plans on? Usually you get a few "centralized printers" and that handful of devices are what get managed.
If you wanted Bob in accounting to have his own printer, it could be networked, but usually not on a maintenance contract.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@dbeato said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
It is common, however just make sure when they configure only the Static IP of the printers to be picking them up. Also make sure the SNMP community is not public (also none of your devices should have that).
I should ask them about this. I am guessing that all the printers are going to have to be networked now.
They aren't currently? Which printers are you looking at having maintenance plans on? Usually you get a few "centralized printers" and that handful of devices are what get managed.
If you wanted Bob in accounting to have his own printer, it could be networked, but usually not on a maintenance contract.
We have way too many printers. We have several managers that have their own, but they are networked. We also have some that are USB only. I am not really sure what the requirements are. Accounting started this process lol
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
Accounting started this process
They are very likely looking at the monthly spend on supplies for all of these different printers (likely different makes and models too) and trying to reduce that cost.
So many people don't require printers, getting a few higher capacity and faster printers that are more central tends to work out so much better than 20 something printers with their own toner etc.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
Accounting started this process
They are very likely looking at the monthly spend on supplies for all of these different printers (likely different makes and models too) and trying to reduce that cost.
So many people don't require printers, getting a few higher capacity and faster printers that are more central tends to work out so much better than 20 something printers with their own toner etc.
Yeah, the thing is, although I have been able to centralize some stuff, they are all too freakin lazy to get up and go to centralized printers that are 10-20 ft away.
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
Yeah, the thing is, although I have been able to centralize some stuff, they are all too freakin lazy to get up and go to centralized printers that are 10-20 ft away.
Accounting will fix that.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
Yeah, the thing is, although I have been able to centralize some stuff, they are all too freakin lazy to get up and go to centralized printers that are 10-20 ft away.
Accounting will fix that.
I am not holding my breath. The guy who orders toner, gets it off ebay and auction sites or where ever it is the cheapest. And it isn't genuine- it is drill and fill and leaks all over the pages and printer internals.
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
guy who orders toner,
So you work for a place where general managers just purchase things without approval?
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
guy who orders toner,
So you work for a place where general managers just purchase things without approval?
I work at a family-owned business. So, yes. Also, this guy orders everything from batteries to nitrile gloves to office chairs and toner. I order all IT issued equipment.
-
And on top of that, the things purchased cause more issues (and likely reprints) rather than just using genuine or quality aftermarket parts and supplies?
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
And on top of that, the things purchased cause more issues (and likely reprints) rather than just using genuine or quality aftermarket parts and supplies?
Yup. I think that is part of what sparked this.
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
I order all IT issued equipment.
Why is printer supplies not a part of that?
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
I order all IT issued equipment.
Why is printer supplies not a part of that?
It is a consumable, like paper. I don't need to be in charge of that.
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
It is a consumable, like paper. I don't need to be in charge of that.
If the consumable is causing the printer to stop work, I would think you'd want to be in charge of it.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
It is a consumable, like paper. I don't need to be in charge of that.
If the consumable is causing the printer to stop work, I would think you'd want to be in charge of it.
I could tell him to order genuine only. However, he will say that they are too much. This will come down to my boss saying that the company needs to budget for genuine toner.
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
I could tell him to order genuine only. However, he will say that they are too much. This will come down to my boss saying that the company needs to budget for genuine toner.
Well it really comes down to whether or not a stoppage of the printer is costing the business so much money that genuine would be worthwhile.
I can't say that it is or isn't. But it is certainly something to consider.
I had a purchaser who purchased supplies like for our printers too, and I was able to convince him that at least quality 3rd party toner was better than the bargain value toner which caused work stoppages and shipping delays.
-
The issue with the super cheap toner (IME) is that it clumps together causing jams or streaks on the paper. So you replace it, even if it still has "plenty of life" just so you can continue and end up spending more money on more toner faster.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
I could tell him to order genuine only. However, he will say that they are too much. This will come down to my boss saying that the company needs to budget for genuine toner.
Well it really comes down to whether or not a stoppage of the printer is costing the business so much money that genuine would be worthwhile.
I can't say that it is or isn't. But it is certainly something to consider.
I had a purchaser who purchased supplies like for our printers too, and I was able to convince him that at least quality 3rd party toner was better than the bargain value toner which caused work stoppages and shipping delays.
Yeah, my boss is the CFO, so... hopefully, he can weigh the costs. As far as I am concerned, 80%+ of the printers we have are a complete waste of money. Inefficient workflows and lazy people are the root of it.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
The issue with the super cheap toner (IME) is that it clumps together causing jams or streaks on the paper. So you replace it, even if it still has "plenty of life" just so you can continue and end up spending more money on more toner faster.
Preaching to the choir here. We have people here that step over dollars to pick up a penny.
-
@wrx7m If your CFO isn't doing something to remedy it, then he's not doing his job.
-
If you watch over the pennies, the dollars take care of themselves.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@wrx7m If your CFO isn't doing something to remedy it, then he's not doing his job.
We will see what he says. He hasn't been involved yet.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
If you watch over the pennies, the dollars take care of themselves.
If you watch over the dollars, the pennies take care of themselves.
-
@DustinB3403 put the keyboard down and walk away..
-
@wrx7m said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
The issue with the super cheap toner (IME) is that it clumps together causing jams or streaks on the paper. So you replace it, even if it still has "plenty of life" just so you can continue and end up spending more money on more toner faster.
Preaching to the choir here. We have people here that step over dollars to pick up a penny.
We crawl over our dollars.
-
@IRJ said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@DustinB3403 put the keyboard down and walk away..
What?
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@IRJ said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@DustinB3403 put the keyboard down and walk away..
What?
You have a ton of posts, but once again add zero value to this thread. The OP is talking about Printer leasing / Maintenance which means that they wont be buying toners anymore. So why the fuck are we talking about purchasing, like IT would even be involved in purchasing toner in any size business?
-
@IRJ said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@IRJ said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@DustinB3403 put the keyboard down and walk away..
What?
You have a ton of posts, but once again add zero value to this thread. The OP is talking about Printer leasing / Maintenance which means that they wont be buying toners anymore. So why the fuck are we talking about purchasing, like IT would even be involved in purchasing toner in any size business?
Get bent, clearly @wrx7m has a ton of printers all over the place that are causing issues. IT is responsible for the printers and ensuring they are functional, thus have a say in what should be used in them.
@wrx7m also reports to the CFO of his company, so any dead printers because Frank the tank purchaser who buys the cheapest toner he can possibly find is killing company equipment and causing more issues than he's saving in money. He's also very likely spending way more money on crap toner for these printers as they get replaced way more frequently and cause way more issues.
-
I went through the pricing process early last year on replacing our entire printer fleet. We went from 4+ different brands to one brand, Canon. Additionally, we got pricing down to a two tier system.
- Large volume copier/printer/fax - color .03/c B/W .006/c
- desktop print only & desktop MFP - B/W .009/c
c= click
We had a printer that we were paying $0.07/page for B/W, the ROI on that one unit was like 4 months
Additionally - instead of each printer having its own dedicated amount of printing included in the base lease, all of the desktop/desktop MFP are in a shared pool of prints. This is hugely beneficial, i.e. one unit is down for a week, we don't have to worry that we won't make the numbers on that printer, etc.
Compared to what we were paying before, I think my ROI was around 30 months. We have a 60 month lease (the lease price does not increase, the only increases are in overages, and assuming I did my math right, and we don't have a huge grown in printing, our overages should be low).
-
Now if you want to talk about brand - As I mentioned, we went with Canon.
They are totally fine with one exception - the ADF (Automatic Document Feeders) on the desktop MFP's SUCK! they are bloody horrible. They don't keep the pages straight. So if this is something you'll use a lot - I highly suggest that you take a stack of 50+ pages and beat the hell out of the demo machine before going with Canon. We saw this problem within weeks of getting the units... it's no like they are 3 years old and just wearing out.
-
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@IRJ said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@DustinB3403 said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@IRJ said in Printer Leasing/Maintenance - Installing Software on the Network for Monitoring Print Devices:
@DustinB3403 put the keyboard down and walk away..
What?
You have a ton of posts, but once again add zero value to this thread. The OP is talking about Printer leasing / Maintenance which means that they wont be buying toners anymore. So why the fuck are we talking about purchasing, like IT would even be involved in purchasing toner in any size business?
IT is responsible for the printers and ensuring they are functional, thus have a say in what should be used in them.
Honestly, I have never worked at a single company where IT supports printers, other than initial setups. This dates back even to 2006.
I have also never heard of anybody getting approval for buying $100 toner. Like seriously, wtf. Think for a fucking second. Who is going to pay people to go through approval processes when orders are under $500
