If this sounds ridiculous to you then chances are you really should read this article.

Fact is that print is one of the biggest areas of unregulated expense within an organization. In fact, most companies ignore expenses associated with printing. This typically results in un-metered costs, escalating waste and increased obsolescence from this business necessity. Just like any resource area, an audit will help you identify areas that can be optimized and improved.

How Can You Start?

Companies can begin to streamline their printing expenses by enlisting the help of an organization skilled in corporate printing audits. Printing audits involve examining historical consumption patterns, direct and indirect costs associated with storage and distribution, obsolescence due to changing business environments, attrition, and advances in technology.

Why Should You Schedule An Enterprise Print Audit?

Such activities are useful to determine what can be brought in-house, what can be templated for print-on-demand activities, what should be warehoused, and what can be eliminated. Establishing a corporate print business plan empowers the enterprise by:

1. Reducing up-front expenses by redirecting inventories to a service provider willing to facilitate pay-as-you-go print services

2. Delivering real-time reporting on seasonal and departmental consumption patterns

3. Anticipating shortages in printed forms and marketing literature

4. Improving operational efficiencies by enabling existing personnel to focus on more important tasks.

What Does A Print Audit Cost?

It depends on who you ask. Large consulting organizations may charge thousands of dollars to conduct an assessment. But many consulting organizations also lack the industry specific skills to make recommendations or substitutions. They also may charge to build systems that are not currently in place to help monitor and control future consumption, warehousing and distribution.

Print service providers, on the other hand, will often conduct an audit with no upfront cost in order to gain the subsequent opportunity inherent to the organization. This makes sense: it