Most companies think they’ve got their print budget under control. After all, how hard can it be? You buy a printer, chuck in a toner cartridge now and then, and off you go. But here’s the thing: that price tag on the box? It’s basically a decoy. Because for every pound you think you’re spending on print, you’re actually forking out another nine behind the scenes – and most teams have no idea.
So if you’ve ever looked at your monthly print costs and thought, “How is it this high again?”, you’re not alone. The good news? There’s a pretty straightforward way to cut it all down by 25% without printing on toilet paper or forcing your staff to squint at their screens forever. It starts with understanding what’s really going on.
The Real Cost of Printing: It’s Not Just Ink and Paper
Here’s what most people miss: the actual hardware and ink are only a tiny slice of your total print costs. The rest? It’s hidden in the day-to-day chaos of how your office runs.
We’ve worked with dozens of businesses to reduce print waste, and the same culprits pop up again and again:
- Walk-and-wait time – Think about how often people stand around waiting for a printer to warm up, clear a jam, or just trek across the office to collect something. Multiply that by hundreds of employees, and suddenly it’s costing you real money.
- IT headaches – Around half of IT help desk tickets are printer-related. Half! That’s time your tech team could be using to actually improve things, not reset paper trays.
- Print and forget – This one’s a classic. People hit print, get distracted, and never pick up their documents. The paper gets binned, the toner’s wasted, and no one even notices.
- Shadow printers – Fed up with slow or shared machines, some staff order their own desktop printers on expenses. Sounds harmless… until you realise these tiny printers often use pricey cartridges and never benefit from bulk ink savings.
The result? Your so-called “cheap” printer setup is quietly draining thousands each year.
Want to Slash Print Costs by 25%? Don’t Start with the Printer
You don’t need to throw out your machines or switch to a different brand. The real trick is changing how people print – and that’s where behavioural nudges come in.
This stuff isn’t theory – we’ve seen it work in NHS trusts, councils, schools, and even law firms (who love a long document). The principle is simple: people don’t need to be told to print less – they need to be nudged.
Here’s how it works:
1. Transparency Nudges: Show the Real Cost
Most people have no clue that printing a full-colour A4 photo could cost £1 or more, while a black-and-white document is a few pence. And why would they? The cost is invisible.
That’s where print management tools like PaperCut come in. They flash up a pop-up when someone hits “Print,” saying something like:
“This job will cost £3.60. Continue?”
It’s just enough of a pause to make people think: “Do I really need this?” Often, the answer is no. And that tiny moment of awareness adds up to big savings.
2. Default Nudges: Make the Cheaper Option the Easiest One
Here’s what we’ve learned: people are lazy (and we say that with love). If the print button spits out colour, single-sided pages by default, most won’t bother changing it.
But if you flip the defaults so it prints double-sided and black-and-white, suddenly the expensive option takes effort. And since most documents don’t need to be in colour, you cut costs instantly – without anyone noticing.
3. Friction Nudges: Kill the “Print and Forget” Problem
Secure print or “Follow-Me” printing is a game-changer. Instead of spitting out documents as soon as you click print, the job is held until you go to the printer and tap your ID badge.
If you never turn up? The job quietly disappears after 24 hours. No waste, no risk of sensitive documents being left out, no more mysterious printouts abandoned on the tray.
It also stops the classic “Oops, printed it three times” mistake.
4. Add a Bit of Friendly Competition
Gamification isn’t just for fitness trackers or sales targets. One of the best ways to shift behaviour is to compare departments.
Send a monthly “Green Report” showing how much each team is printing, who’s using the most colour ink, or who’s saved the most trees. Suddenly, everyone wants to be in the top spot – or at least not at the bottom.
Take it further with impact visualisation: instead of saying “You printed 3,000 pages,” say “You used up 0.3 trees and created 6kg of CO2.” That hits differently.
Final Thought: The Goal Isn’t No Printing. It’s Smarter Printing.
No one’s saying you should ban printing outright. That’s not realistic (and let’s be honest, we all love a neatly stapled report now and then). But with the right systems and nudges in place, you can stop the waste without feeling like the print police.
The truth is, cutting print costs isn’t about buying cheaper ink. It’s about helping your team print with purpose – and giving them the tools to do it without even thinking.
Want to start seeing those savings? Start with one of these nudges this month. Even a small change can shave thousands off your annual print bill. And best of all? You’ll never have to explain a surprise toner invoice to finance again.
Need help making this happen across your organisation? We’ve helped businesses of all shapes and sizes slash print costs without annoying their staff. Just ask.
