Let’s be honest: the only things that need to be printed in color are children’s birthday party invitations, and if your staff are printing those at work, you have bigger problems.
Color printing (or colour printing, for our non-US friends) costs a lot more than black-and-white printing. Exactly how much, you can figure out for yourself.
This makes color printing one of the easiest-to-miss office expenses, and a legitimate path to a balanced budget (and a happier finance team). With the right printer settings, the right policy defaults, and the right print management software, businesses can reduce waste, control costs, and still produce accurate, professional-looking documents.
They’ll just be in black and white.
How much more does color printing cost?
Color printing typically costs several times more per page than monochrome printing, although the exact difference depends on stuff like your printer, toner coverage, consumables and vendor service agreement.
As an indicative Australian benchmark, Toshiba’s 2026 office printer running-cost guide estimates managed-plan costs of around 1–3 cents per black-and-white page and 6–13 cents per color page**.**
That means a color page could cost roughly two to 13 times as much, depending on the rates being compared. Doesn’t sound much? Well, if an office printing 5,000 color pages a month switched just 20% of those to black and white, that’s a cool grand saved annually. Not bad for a simple settings change.
Check out our free print costs calculator to see how much you could save in black and white.
How can you reduce unnecessary color printing?
The easiest way to reduce color printing costs is to make monochrome the default for documents that don’t need color, which (let’s be frank) is the vast majority of documents. And with the right settings, you can still preserve color privileges for certain user groups, or document types.
1. Make black-and-white printing the default
The easiest change to make to save on color printing. Configure all your printer preferences or policies to default to monochrome. Users can still select color when needed (if you allow them to), but routine emails, internal drafts, and text documents will be saving you money with every page.
2. Use duplex printing and draft mode
Double-sided printing reduces paper consumption (by up to half!) while draft or economy mode can reduce consumable use for documents that don’t need presentation-quality output. Check your printer’s settings to see which options are supported.
3. Check documents before printing
Remember: color logos, email signatures, charts, and decorative backgrounds can turn an otherwise monochrome document into a color job. Review the print preview and remove any unnecessary color elements.
4. Track color printing by user or department
This is a big one. Without reporting, it’s impossible to know whether color printing is concentrated in particular teams or driven by a specific workflow. Who knows? Maybe your entire color budget is being eaten up by Marketing. A problem that could be solved in one fell, managerial swoop.
Print management software is great for this sort of thing, because it can show live usage patterns, as well as historical print data. Both of which help IT teams identify opportunities for better policies and user education. You can even choose your color detection method, which allows documents to automatically be analyzed for the presence of color. For instance, imagine a user printing a 21-page document containing just one page in color. Page-level detection can identify 20 black and white pages and one color page, supporting more accurate accounting and charging where compatible.
Why does color management matter?
Reducing color printing is only half the equation. The other half is accuracy and consistency. In other words, when you do print in color, you want it to look, well, colorful.
Color management helps make sure that colors are reproduced as intended across screens, applications, printers and physical collateral. Without suitable settings and calibrated devices, brand colors, charts and design proofs may look different in print. Not ideal, especially when you’re paying a premium.
For offices producing branded documents or customer-facing materials, here are some things to consider.
- Use appropriate color profiles and printer settings.
- Calibrate devices where color accuracy matters.
- Check proofs before printing large batches.
- Use consistent settings for repeat jobs.
It’s hard to find legit info on this topic online, so check with your printer manufacturer for device-specific guides. X-Rite’s guide to color management in print is also a good starting point.
How can print management software reduce color costs?
Print management software gives IT teams the tools to control print behavior, and print behavior is the number one driver behind print cost. The less people print, and the less they print in color, the more money you save.
It all comes down to visibility and control. First, you need visibility over the current scope of the problem (i.e. how much you’re spending, and where that spend is coming from). Then you need the tools to control it. PaperCut handles both.
For smaller offices, PaperCut Pocket is an accessible way to manage printing through the cloud, and get on top of your color usage. Larger or more complex environments should probably go with PaperCut MF ** ** or ** ** PaperCut Hive, both of which provide broader print management capabilities.
Here are some useful features for controlling your color output:
- Print policies: Set rules so that printing defaults to monochrome or duplex.
- Set the right behavior: Use workflows to encourage or automatically convert color jobs to black and white, or restrict color printing to approved users and groups.
- Usage reporting: Identify color-printing patterns by user, department, or device, then crack down on wasteful printing.
- Quotas and controls: Discourage unnecessary printing with print quotas.
- Secure print release: Hold jobs until users authenticate at a printer. No more forgotten jobs in the paper tray!
Want better visibility and control over color printing? Explore PaperCut Pocket, MF and Hive
Color Printing FAQ’s
How much can a business save by reducing color printing?
That all depends on your print volume, and the difference between color and monochrome rates for your specific toner supplier. As a rough guide, using the illustrative rates above assuming an 8-cent difference per page, switching just 1,000 pages from 10 cents per color page to 2 cents per monochrome page saves you $80.
Can IT track color printing by employee?
With print management software like PaperCut, they sure can. PaperCut allows you to track print activity by user, department, location, or device, so you can see exactly where the color usage is coming from. This also gives you a good baseline for measuring ROI, once new print policies are enforced.
Does printing in black and white always cost less?
Basically yes, but exact costs depend on the printer and its operating requirements. Check your device’s cost-per-page figures and service agreement, rather than assuming every monochrome job has the same exact cost across the board.
How can I make sure printed colors match my design?
This will be down to your device manufacturer, and whatever software you’re using to prepare your documents.
In broad terms, you need to use appropriate color profiles, consistent printer settings and calibrated devices wherever you can. Always print a proof before producing large batches, particularly for branded materials or color-critical documents.
Want to see your print costs in simple black and white? Speak with PaperCut to find the right print management solution for your business.
