The diagram above shows how paper flows through an office, from receiving the paper, the printing process itself and then disposal. At each of these stages there are costs, all of which are impacted by reducing the amount of paper used.

(See also the benefits of FinePrint )

The paper problem

The advent of electronic document distribution means the end of the "print and distribute" model of communication to a "distribute electronically and print" model where the individual is responsible for printing. While electronic document distribution decreases distribution costs, it can increase printing costs because of higher costs associated with low volume printers and the additional time required for users to print and retrieve the document.

A study by Lawrence Berkeley labs shows that the typical office worker uses about 10,000 sheets (20 reams) of paper per year. The cost of the paper is about $50 while the total printing costs are $500. Included in the $500 figure are:

By reducing the amount of paper flowing through an organization, efficiency is gained in all of the areas mentioned above. Paper is far too useful and satisfying to want to get rid of it. Paper efficiency acknowledges the usefulness of paper while trying to reduce the amount used.

Potential Solutions

There are many ways to reduce paper consumption in an organization. Two of the most common are duplex printing, and multi-up printing. These methods can be effective but are not optimal.

Duplex printing: Printing on both sides of the paper (called duplexing) using special duplexing hardware can reduce the amount of paper used and it is fully supported by FinePrint. However, duplexing has some drawbacks: It requires special hardware that is not available for all printers. The user must specifically ask for duplexing service via the printer driver which an often cumbersome task. Duplexing takes more time than printing two single sheets of paper because of the longer paper path and complicated mechanics of duplex devices. Printers jams are more common in duplex printers which may require the use of heavier paper stock.

Multi-up printing: Some printers have printer drivers that can print multiple pages on a sheet. Multi-up printing as it is called, is an excellent way to save paper as it reduces paper and toner use, speeds up the printing process and causes less wear and tear on printers. Surprisingly, these drivers are underutilized because: Each printer brand and model has a different method and user interface for the multi-up function. Multi-up functions are hidden within the printer driver and are inconvenient to access No preview feature is available to determine if the material will be readable in different multi-up formats. The user must remember to reset the multi-up setting when single page printing is desired. Forgetting to do so often leads to reprinting, wasting more paper and time.

The FinePrint Solution

FinePrint supports duplex printing on all printers but emphasizes the multi-up printing method as the preferred mode. This makes FinePrint an ideal solution for the following reasons:

Single printer driver provides advanced functions for all printers eliminating the training problem associated with multiple user interfaces presented by different manufacturer drivers. Print preview window appears for each print job. This makes it easy to determine the best layout for the particular content being printed.

Bypass button goes straight to printer with a single click in cases where no additional formatting is desired. Server edition eases installation across workstations.

FinePrint has a number of other features that increase efficiency beyond multi up printing:

Jobs can be previewed and printed on electronic versions of company letterhead and forms. This eliminates the need to purchase pre-printed forms and enforces company graphical standards.

Multiple jobs can be batched together as a single print job which eliminates the problem of having jobs interspersed with those of others. Unwanted pages from email and web pages can be deleted before printing

Return on Investment

Our users report savings of 30-60% on paper use when using FinePrint. Assuming a 30% reduction in cost from the standard $500 per year, $150 per user can be saved each year. It is easy to see why FinePrint is an environmentally effective solution that enhances the bottom line of any organization. If you have further questions about how FinePrint can benefit your company, please contact us.