This week I have decided to talk a little about printing costs. These costs are not what one typically thinks about - hardware, supplies, and media - but other cost that are sometimes called "hidden" costs. These costs are typically found in medium to enterprise sized companies.

A recent InfoTrends study found that organizations perceived that they spend an average of three percent of their annual revenues on printing, copying and fax-related costs. But in actuality overall document expenditures (including hardware, supplies and "people" costs) averaged six percent of annual revenues across all industries. So why the confusion? Many of the largest cost components of document output are often hidden and grow over time. Here is a quick look at five of the most common concealed costs (read: savings opportunities) and why it pays to act on them now.

1. Device proliferation
2. Underutilization
3. Multiple print architectures
4. Multiple print drivers
5. Energy drain

I hope this white paper helps to illuminate that some costs associated with printing don't necessarily show up in an initial conversation about printer costs. I would be interested in hearing readers' perspectives on this topic. Do you see other cost of ownership issues from your perspective?