Most businesses don’t think twice about their office printer until something goes wrong.
The reality is that an outdated or inefficient printer can quietly cost your business thousands of dollars every year through lost productivity, expensive repairs, wasted consumables and unnecessary downtime.
At Datacord, we’ve helped South Australian businesses improve their print environments for more than 34 years. Here are 10 signs your office printer could be costing you far more than you realise.
1. Staff Are Constantly Waiting for the Printer
Every minute spent standing at the printer is time not spent doing productive work.
Slow print speeds, frequent warm-up times and long queues quickly add up across an entire business. If multiple employees regularly wait to print, scan or copy documents, the hidden labour cost can be significant.
Ask yourself: How many hours are lost each month simply waiting?
2. You’re Calling for Repairs Too Often
If your service technician knows your office by heart, it might be time to upgrade.
Older devices naturally require more maintenance, resulting in:
- More breakdowns
- Higher repair costs
- More downtime
- Frustrated staff
Sometimes replacing an ageing machine is more cost-effective than continually repairing it.
3. You’re Paying Too Much for Toner
Many businesses purchase toner whenever they run out, often paying premium prices.
Modern managed print solutions can:
- Automatically monitor toner levels
- Ship replacements before you run out
- Reduce waste
- Lower your overall printing costs
No more emergency toner purchases.
4. Your Energy Bills Are Higher Than They Need to Be
Older printers often consume significantly more electricity than newer models.
Modern Canon and Sharp multifunction devices include energy-saving technology such as:
- Low-power sleep modes
- Fast wake-up times
- Improved energy efficiency
- Reduced environmental impact
Lower energy usage means lower operating costs.
5. Printing Problems Are Interrupting Your Workflow
Paper jams.
Driver issues.
Connection problems.
Random error messages.
If your team regularly needs IT support just to print documents, your printer isn’t helping your business—it’s slowing it down.
Reliable equipment keeps your team productive.
6. You’re Printing More Than You Need To
Many businesses unknowingly waste thousands of pages every year.
Simple features like:
- Secure print release
- Duplex (double-sided) printing
- Print rules
- User authentication
can dramatically reduce unnecessary printing and paper costs.
7. Important Documents Aren’t Secure
Printers are often one of the most overlooked security risks in an office.
Sensitive documents sitting unattended in output trays can expose confidential information.
Modern business printers offer:
- PIN release printing
- Secure user authentication
- Data encryption
- Activity tracking
Protecting your information is just as important as printing it.
8. Scanning Is Slow and Manual
If employees still scan one page at a time or email documents to themselves before filing them, valuable time is being wasted.
Modern multifunction devices can automatically:
- Scan to cloud storage
- Scan to email
- Save directly into business workflows
- Convert documents into searchable PDFs
Smarter document management means less administration.
9. Your Business Has Grown, But Your Printer Hasn’t
The printer that suited five employees may struggle with twenty.
As businesses grow, print volumes increase and so do expectations.
If your printer regularly becomes a bottleneck, it may simply no longer be the right fit for your business.
10. You Don’t Actually Know What Your Printing Costs
This is one of the biggest warning signs.
Many businesses don’t know:
- Their monthly print volume
- Cost per page
- Toner usage
- Service costs
- Total cost of ownership
Without this information, it’s impossible to know whether you’re overspending.
A professional print assessment can often uncover significant savings.