A Print Audit can be the first step to Digital Transformation

Printing can account for up to 3% of an organisation’s revenue, yet very few have an accurate understanding of what that cost actually is. The Business Analyst team at Apogee produce reports showing an organisation’s current print fleet, the volumes going through each device and the associated costs...

A print audit is an effective way for an organisation to gain an accurate understanding of their existing print devices, usage and expenditure. The findings of a print audit can then be used to implement a more efficient Managed Print Service. Why replace your print and document infrastructure with likefor-like technology without fully understanding how your existing infrastructure works?

In order to conduct a print audit, software is used to monitor and collect informative data. This data is then used to gain a full understanding of your organisation’s existing print infrastructure along with user behaviours, print volumes and costs.

All data is then analysed by a Business Analyst to identify key problem areas and highlight opportunities to maximise efficiency, ensuring your organisation’s print infrastructure is as efficient as possible. This exercise is also a great way to learn more about how a document moves through your organisation.

A basic print audit will focus on device locations, usage and costs, however a detailed print audit will look at additional factors such as document workflow, wastage, energy usage and the lifecycle of a document. There are generally five steps to complete a print assessment that will help define a solution tailored specifically to your organisation.

These five stages are summarised and displayed below. It is crucial that the auditors engage with various end users across the organisation in order to gain a true understanding of how documents are used within the organisation.