The life-cycle costs of peripherals such as printers, etc., (power and consumables costs) can be far higher than their purchase cost - and differ significantly between brands.

When buying printers and such, don't look only at the purchase price, but calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)which combines purchase, power and consumables costs over the life-span of the device.

Consolidation is a great way to save on both capital and power costs, replacing multiple devices with a single multi-role one (e.g., Multi-Function Devices, Multi-role Routers). But simple replacement may not be the best option: for example, to allow for fax reception, an MFC must be powered on all the time (with potentially higher power consumption than a standalone fax machine). An in-depth assessment of usage is required.

Also, the choice of ink-jet versus laser can be vexed: ink-jet printers are usually cheaper, and use less power, but consumables are usually much more costly. The only way to make a proper comparison is to assess the Total Cost of Ownership.

Also, will one high-performance, high-reliability printer do the job of multiple printers - with a consequent saving in consumables, maintenance, etc.?

Finally:

• Are your devices power managed, and are power management options set appropriately?
• Are your devices energy accredited?

Considering consumable choices at the times of device purchase can save more than the cost of the device itself.

Consumables Choices

Unless you require very high print quality, re-filled ink & toner cartridges will return significant savings without affecting the life of the printer.

Of course, there are good choices and poor choices, and EarthCare Technology can help identify the best choice for you. Criteria include print quality and supplementary warranties to cover waived printer manufacturer warranties.

EarthCare Technology can help by:

• Assessment of the benefits of device consolidation and rationalisation
• Optimum peripheral selection.
• TCO calculation and TCO-based selection.
• Enabling and configuration of device power management.