4 Surprising Ways Construction Companies Can Save Money

Though necessary, printing can be a costly part of a construction firm’s daily business. From material costs to equipment maintenance to the high costs of outsourcing. 

But, it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Printing, when done smartly, can be more efficient, more productive, cost less, and more on-demand. Explore 4 surprising ways that construction companies can save money below. 

1. In-House, On-Demand Large Format Printing 

Outsourcing your printing needs may seem like the easiest solution, and oftentimes it is, but, it comes with many drawbacks that businesses need to be aware of. 

First, you get less control over the finished product. When outsourcing, you send your files to the printer, along with your specifications, and they handle the rest. This sounds simplified, but it means you leave a large portion of the print job completely up to them. This could lead to low-quality work that you don’t realize until you have a stack of thousands sitting on your desk. 

Additionally, you don’t just pay for materials used, you also pay for labor, machine usage, materials, shipping, and more. Along with these costs and the lack of quality control, it also takes longer to get your order as you wait for printing and shipping and your order may not always be first in line. This can leave you in a tough spot when you need things quickly or on-demand. 

 In-house printing comes with some complexities like installation and learning how to operate the machines, but the benefits—on-demand printing, higher quality, increased security, lower costs, and more—vastly outweigh the drawbacks. Learn more about how you can quickly and effectively bring printing in-house below. 

2. More Efficient Bulk Print Jobs and Document Management 

On average, a business’ paper consumption rises 22% each year. Just one employee prints, on average, 8,874 pages a year. In construction, an industry that relies heavily on paper-based bids and reports, the costs of materials and storage add up quickly.  

Construction relies on non-digital means of information more than most other industries but doesn’t have the best, most modern printing solutions to help them achieve higher levels of efficiency and cost savings. 

The answer to this problem is choosing machines that work smarter, are connected, and are maintained by specialists. Read the blog below to get a better idea of how businesses spend on printing and what they can do to improve the way they handle bulk jobs and document management. 

 

3. Keep Your Print Machines Productive and Optimized 

Printing efforts are only as effective and efficient as the machines you use to execute them. So, when equipment fails, so do your print jobs.  

This is why it is so important to have backups in place, experts to fall back on, and modern machines equipped with the best parts and software. Partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) for managed print services (MPS) gives businesses access to experts in the printing field who know: 

• Which machines are best at what to help pick out the best solutions for your business 
• Have the technical expertise necessary to repair and maintain these machines 

• How to optimize fleets with software and technology to make for more efficient printing 

Click below to get a stronger understanding of how partnering with an MSP can help your business’ printing efforts and help your fleet become more productive and efficient. 

 

4. Secure Your Printing  

Print-related security incidents can cost businesses up to $400,000 in damages, fines, and recovery-related costs. And this is not an uncommon occurrence. 60% of enterprise companies suffered a printer security breach in 2019 and attack numbers are only going up, rising 69% in the last year alone. 

Attacks like document theft, crypto-jacking, email attacks, and printer tampering can not only cripple your printing ability, but it can also lead to data loss or theft, too. 

In Conclusion 

Printing is a necessary part of the construction industry, but too many firms are pushing the costs aside and choosing to continue printing with outdated technology and un-optimized fleets, or just throwing money out the window to third-party, outsourced printing companies. 

With the help of an MSP like Impact, you can bring all your printing—both standard and production—in-house to save money, time, and get what you need, when you need it. 

Learn more about how printing and MPS services fit into a more connected and effective construction site with our webinar, Industry Insights: Effective Construction Site Management. Join us live on Wednesday, September 21st at 11:00 am CT to hear our experts discuss the technology available to optimize construction operations. Register here for the free webinar.