Office Printers

WH Smith Australia Case Study

August 5, 2023 Arthur Ghelis Business Automation, Leasing Office Equipment, Managed Print Services, MFP, news, Office Copiers, Office Equipment, Office Printers, Office Solutions, Office Supplies, Orion Print, Print Management Services, Printer Repair, Printer Toner, Service, Uncategorized No comments

If you have travelled anywhere in Australia by plane since 2010 you probably have visited a WHSmith store. Their first store opened in 2010 in Melbourne Airport and within a short period of time they have grown to over 50 stores operating in Australia and over 500 employees.

WH Smith is a leading global retailer with a presence in over 25 countries, serving its customers from over 1,300 stores across the globe. With such an extensive presence worldwide, WHSmith was proud to open their first store in Australia back in 2010. Their first store opened its doors in Melbourne Airport and within a short period of time, the business has grown substantially – and it continues to grow – with stores now open in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

Their goal is to be the leading retailer in convenience, books and news for the world’s travelling customer. They understand our customers and know that in the locations in which they operate people have less time to browse and their focus on instore design and excellent customer service reflects this. Early in 2012 the business acquired the brand Fresh+ – a hospital café business, serving fresh food and refreshments to visitors and patients.

As they have continued to grow the business, innovation has been at the heart of everything they do. Their aim is to move at the same pace as their customers, always ensuring they are at the forefront of everything they do

The Challenge

Challenge WH Smith had two major challenges when it came to their printing requirements – their multiple locations and where they were placed, along with a busy customer-facing environment where uptime was of prime importance. The challenge for every WHSmith was that the device was either in a regional, or difficult-to-get-to, location (such as a hospital or Airport).Epson’s Heat-Free print technology means less moving parts so more reliable printing and increased up time. The high-yield inks (up to 8 times longer than comparative lasers) gave staff less disruptions and more time to attend to their customers needs..

The Solution, The Benefits

With minimal interventions – both service and consumables replacement – as one of their buying criteria, along with price-performance, WH Smith was keen to understand the benefits Epson could bring to the table.

Epson excelled on both counts, the reliability of their Heat-Free technology not only improved staff morale but also customer service capability. The Epson high-yield ink consumables for both the A4 (up to 50,000 pages) and A3 (up to 100,000 pages) models not only provided WHSmith with the minimal disruptions they were looking for, it also enabled them to dramatically reduce their overall running costs.
In fact Orion Print Management, Epson’s Premier Partner, quantified the total cost savings over the contract period to be just over 80% in power and running cost.

The Return-on-Investment

As much as WHSmith appreciated the cost savings of the Epson devices, the real return-on-investment here was the extra time staff could spend with their customers. And with Orion Print Management proactively and professionally managing their fleet, the WHSmith IT Management team could now focus their time on key IT projects.

Orion is Epson Australia’s Premier Partners. We improve organisational effectiveness by providing comprehensive content management, accelerating shared business processes by facilitating information-sharing across boundaries for better business insight. The measure of
their company is reflected in the testimony of their customers, and WHSmith is an excellent example of what positive impact they can bring to your business.

Productivity Need A Boost? Look No Further Than Your Office Printers

August 15, 2018 Arthur Ghelis Office Printers No comments

Every business is constantly on the lookout for ways to boost productivity. There’s one component that often gets overlooked in the workplace. That component is our printers. Nearly every employee uses a printer on a daily basis. The majority of your company’s data flows through your printers. For these reasons, your printers are great tools to help you boost productivity and streamline your office workflows.

Why Leasing Your Next Piece of Office Equipment Makes Sense

April 15, 2018 Arthur Ghelis Leasing Office Equipment, Office Equipment, Office Printers No comments

For businesses, equipment costs can add up. Technology changes rapidly, and too often you might catch yourself reciting that old adage about “making them like they used to.” That’s probably why leasing office equipment is an increasingly popular way to manage costs and keep operations smooth. Get to know a little more about the process and see how a good lease can help your business.

Types of Leases

When it comes to leasing office equipment, most leases fall into one of two categories: capital and operating leases. The two forms offer differing approaches to managing equipment costs, and they have distinct pros and cons.

Operating Lease. This type of lease can be causally considered an equipment rental. This primary point is that the equipment is never considered an asset for the lessee. You simply enter into a contract to pay a monthly fee to access the equipment. Some leases will include a buyout option at the end of the contract. The cost of the buyout is usually determined by the age of the equipment, wear and tear, terms of the lease, and impact of newer technology. Overall, operating leases tend to have lower monthly payments than capital leases and they are more common.
Capital Lease. In principle, a capital lease looks very similar to a standard loan. Equipment is financed, and the lessee is considered the owner from the outset. This changes the technical aspects of the contract, and it can enable businesses to deduct more of the total equipment costs in taxes (depending on circumstances). A capital lease can be a more economical way of purchasing equipment without suffering the drawbacks of a true loan, such as debt accumulation, high interest rates, and limited tax advantages.

Buying vs. Leasing

It’s the age-old question. Most of the time, you’ll choose the option that costs less. But, many major equipment pieces are expensive enough and have to be replaced often enough that there is no clear winner in terms of spending. A simple pro and con comparison can help you determine whether buying or leasing office equipment is the way to go.

Buying, on average, has a much higher initial investment cost. In the case of equipment with a high turnover rate, buying is also more expensive in the long run. This applies to devices that suffer significant wear and tear, or anything that becomes obsolete quickly (e.g. tablets, smart devices, and office equipment). Buying also puts all of the onus on the owner. Maintenance, upgrades, and every other hassle comes with ownership. The only real advantage is the mindset of knowing you own the equipment.

Leasing office equipment minimizes drawbacks. You can be ensured of having working, up-to-date, modern equipment for the duration of the contract. The process is simplified, and the more predictable cost structure makes budgeting easier.

If you want to explore the depth of leasing options, contact Orion today. We’ll be happy to review your business needs and help you find exactly what you need.

OEM, Remanufactured, and Compatible Toner — What’s the Difference?

March 1, 2018 Arthur Ghelis Office Copiers, Office Printers, Office Supplies, Printer Toner No comments

We get it—picking out the right toner can be confusing at times. When dealing with printer consumables, such as toner, you need to match up the right ink cartridge with your particular device. But it goes beyond just one option per device make and model. With so many different manufacturers offering printer consumables at various price points, this is where the purchase decision gets difficult. With that in mind, take a look at the following breakdown of pros and cons of some of the different toner options that are out there.

OEM Toner

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) toner cartridges are made by the original manufacturer of your device. This is the toner that came with the device on day one.

Pros: OEM toner is the highest quality toner you can find for your device. It may also help your device last longer since this toner is specifically designed to work with this device.

Cons: It’s the most expensive toner option out there. It’s also not as environmentally friendly as other toners, since no OEM toners come from recycled parts.

Remanufactured Toner

This is toner made up of some pre-used parts that have gone through a thorough recycling process. All cartridges are meticulously refurbished to meet the standards of OEM toner.

Pros: Remanufactured toner tends to be very affordable—especially in comparison to OEM toner. It’s also an eco-friendly option with a light carbon footprint.

Cons: At times, not all remanufactured toner is held to the same standards as OEM toner, so be sure to work with a reputable company to ensure that you receive high-quality parts.

Compatible Toner

Compatible toner cartridges are created by third-party, independent companies. These are usually overseas products created from all new parts.

Pros: Compatible toner is usually the most affordable option on the market when it comes to printing consumables.

Cons: Quality control can be an issue with international ink manufacturers, as there are no internationally enforced quality assurance measures to hold manufacturers accountable for their products. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that you are using a top-of-the-line manufacturer and trusted vendor when going with compatible toner.

Understanding the pros and cons of each type of toner makes the purchasing decision a little easier. For more information on toner or any of our other consumables, contact us today.

Managed Print Solutions: How Much is Printing Costing You?

January 15, 2018 Arthur Ghelis Document Management, Managed Print Services, Office Printers No comments

Printing is an essential part of most business’ workflows, but it can also be one of the hardest areas to track and control associated costs. Fortunately, Managed Print Solutions (MPS) addresses some of the costliest elements of a print strategy and can provide up to a 30 percent reduction in print expenses.

Consider the following business printing scenarios and their corresponding MPS solutions.

• Lost and abandoned print jobs — Distractions are everywhere, and in a humming office print jobs are easily forgotten or accidentally sent to the wrong device.
MPS Solution: Pull-printing. With access cards or personal print codes, documents aren’t printed until the owner is at the printer to receive them—improving security and reducing unnecessary output.

• Wasteful departmental printing habits — How much of your printing is front side of the page only? Is colour used when it’s not needed?
MPS Solution: System-wide defaults. From draft mode to black-and-white to duplex printing, cost-saving defaults automate frugal printing behaviour.

• Rogue individual users — Maybe a few of your team members print every single email, or a few may misuse the company printer for personal needs.
MPS Solution: Assign machines, use print logs, and implement individual usage caps. The insights provided by MPS help identify and reduce costly print habits and streamline individual workflows.

• Over-printing to meet minimums — Minimum print quantities at many print shops can leave you with boxes of unused, outdated materials.
MPS Solution: Print on demand. Robust in-house printing capabilities can be tailored to your specific printing needs and enable you to print only the number of copies you need, when you need them.

• Tied-up capital — Printers, scanners, and copiers can build up in an office over time. How much money is trapped in devices you don’t truly need, taking up space you can’t use?
MPS Solution: Fleet optimization and leasing. When you have the right number of the right devices, every dollar is put to best use, and no space or capital is wasted on offsite or in-house storage. Additionally, leasing your equipment helps with cash flow, while providing access to top technologies.

• Lost productivity — Your staff has better things to do with their time than order supplies, troubleshoot errors, and maintain machines.
MPS Solution: Managed Print Services! This is the core of MPS—taking care of your printing needs so your team can focus on the work that brings your business real value.

If you don’t know exactly how much printing is costing you, it’s definitely time to find out. Contact Orion Print Management to see how much you’re spending on printing, and learn how much Managed Print Solutions can save your business!

How Print Management Services Improve Business Productivity

January 1, 2018 Arthur Ghelis Document Management, Managed Print Services, Office Printers, Print Management Services No comments

Many IT departments spend much of their time responding to issues concerning their office equipment instead of more productively spending office hours working on projects that truly allows the business to prosper. In fact, many large IT departments spend approximately 25% of their work hours dealing with device management including ordering supplies, equipment repair, new device installation, etc.

Businesses of all sizes constantly seek ways to increase productivity while simultaneously save money. By relieving your IT team of their print management duties, you can significantly improve business productivity. A quick solution would be hiring a qualified print management services company. Print management services work to improve office printing processes that make office print more efficient and cost-effective.

Oversight:

When saving money with print management services, the first step is a comprehensive assessment of the print program in place, including equipment and supplies. When you determine what does and does not work within your current system, the print management experts at Orion can suggest and implement new opportunities to maximize your print solutions. After establishing a print management plan, your print management company will continuously monitor and service your office printers and copiers and keep your office stocked on supplies.

Cost Efficiency:

Many businesses don’t realize how much budget is being consumed by document printing and copying. However, with print management services, your business can regain control of costs and reduce unnecessary expenditures.

Print services will identify ways to reduce hidden costs. Office printers and copy machines are necessary components to office life and require particular supplies and maintenance to avoid downtime. With managed print services, you can identify potential issues and solve them before they become significant problems keeping your employees focus on business strategy rather than print concerns.

Overall Benefits:

Wile cost management is a priority, print management services can provide businesses with solutions that benefit the entire organization. Including increased IT security, workflow solutions, and print fleet management and repair. If you are interested in a cost efficient and highly productive print services, contact Orion Print Management today!