In the grand scheme of IT challenges, print issues might seem minor. But for many organizations, they’re a major time sink. Studies suggest that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 2 IT help desk tickets are related to printing, from missing print queues to driver errors. This is a significant slice of IT capacity - in an area that doesn’t really add strategic value to the business.
When your IT department is chasing an ever-growing pile of support tickets, they’re stuck in an endless troubleshooting hamster wheel. This is why automated print queue deployment is more than a convenience feature; it’s a strategic lever for improving IT efficiency, reducing user frustration, and freeing up IT teams to focus on higher-value work.
The true cost of print problems
Print is often described as the “silent drain” on IT resources. To put things into perspective, let’s say a medium-sized IT help desk has two staff members who each take around 30 calls a day, or a total of 60 calls.
Now imagine that one-third of these are related to printing: that’s roughly 20 calls. Some of these might be quick and easy to solve over the phone, like paper jams or toner shortages. But for more complex problems, such as connectivity issues or hardware malfunctions, the IT team may need to make a physical inspection of the printer or spend time at someone’s desk. That means the cost per ticket could range from as low as $6 to $40 or more.
So what is the cost of all those print-related tickets? Well, take those 20 calls multiplied by an average cost of $23 per ticket multiplied by 250 working days across the year. That adds up to at least $115,000 – not to mention all the time wasted on lost productivity. Interested in cutting that cost out? Read on.
Common print-related help desk problems
Let’s start by looking at where the bulk of print tickets are coming from. In my experience, print drivers are responsible for many of the most common issues. When new devices are added or operating systems are updated, drivers often become mismatched or outdated, resulting in users losing color options, print jobs failing, and printers vanishing from the list of options.
Print queues are another frequent source of user frustration. The classic culprit is a print job getting stuck in a shared queue and blocking everyone else from printing. There are also a lot of basic setup challenges, such as calls to IT about how to add a printer. When users are non-technical or working remotely, even simple tasks can become complicated.
Connectivity and access issues can also require IT support. When printers are installed manually, IT teams have to go around and connect each individual user to the print server. In a hybrid working environment, users could have trouble connecting remotely or they might be trying to print to devices on a different site or network.
These recurring problems create a repetitive cycle for IT teams, where they are constantly putting out fires that should be preventable.
The solution: Automated print queue deployment
Surprisingly, there’s one fairly simple fix for many of these common issues and that’s automated print queue deployment, like that provided by PaperCut Hive, which takes the manual, error-prone setup process out of the equation entirely. It allows IT teams to install and test print queues centrally, ensuring that all drivers, settings, and access controls function correctly. These queues are then automatically pushed out to users, based on the network they’re connected to, their user group or department, and their specific device or workstation.
In practice, this means that when someone moves between sites, the right printer appears automatically in their list. So if they walk into a new office and connect to the company Wi-Fi, they can hit “print” without any manual installation or extra steps needed. No more calls to the helpdesk about missing queues.
Then, because users only see the correct printer, it removes confusion about where to send (or find) their print job. Queues are automatically tied to locations and permissions, meaning fewer access issues. And each user has their own set of queues – rather than sharing a single server queue – so one person’s stuck print job won’t affect everyone else.
On the user side, it transforms the print environment into a smooth, self-service operation. Simpler printing means fewer IT helpdesk tickets.
Reducing the print burden on IT teams and users
Modern print management solutions offer a wide range of benefits to both IT admins and to end users. They are designed to seamlessly support mobile and remote printing, enabling employees to print from anywhere, on any device – which is a critical function in the hybrid work era.
IT teams have visibility and control over the entire print environment from a single console, making it easy to set and enforce print policies such as duplex, black-and-white printing as the default. And when there are issues, centralized cloud-based management enables IT teams to resolve them quickly regardless of where they are working that day.
While automation and cloud solutions can solve most of today’s print pain, there may still be some small headaches for users and IT teams. But Microsoft’s modern print stack promises a driverless future – removing the final barrier to effortless printing. Implementing cloud-based print management today will position your business to make a smooth transition when that day comes.
In the meantime, taking print tickets off your helpdesk can free up your IT team, allowing them to redirect their energy towards tech innovation and strategy. By adopting centralized cloud print management and automated print queue deployment, your print environment will (almost) run itself – potentially eliminating a third or more of your helpdesk tickets that are related to printing.
