Printing is a real headache, especially for teams with no room to negotiate regarding hardware and software efficiency, security, and cost control. Managing complex on-premise, cloud, or hybrid setups while maintaining operations, data security, and compliance keeps most sys admins at night.
That’s where powerful print monitoring tools come in: ScrewDrivers Reports by Tricerat. Regain control of your print environment—efficiently, securely, and without breaking the bank.
When most people think about printing costs, they think of hardware—buying printers, setting them up, and maybe a bit of maintenance. But if you’ve been in IT for a while, you know the actual costs lie beneath the surface. We’re talking about the ongoing operational expenses—consumables like paper and toner, regular maintenance, and the sometimes overwhelming admin support needed to keep everything running. Zachary Lander-Portnoy, our CRO, put it best:
That small hardware 5% is very much a front-end cost...the other 95% are the operating costs that have to follow around the consumables, the operator intervention, the indirect costs, whether it's the help desk, the support staff, make up the 95%.
What does this mean for IT admins? If we’re serious about cutting costs, we must shift our focus from hardware to these ongoing expenses. The good news is that we can manage these costs more effectively by understanding where the money is going and make smarter decisions about our print environments.
ScrewDrivers Reports gives you the insights to manage these hidden expenses, allowing you to make smarter decisions and optimize your print environment from the ground up.
Unmanaged printing can quickly become a budgetary black hole. The costs add up fast, from paper and toner to energy and maintenance. ScrewDrivers Reports offers detailed analytics that let you monitor usage patterns, track costs in real time, and pinpoint where resources are being wasted. Armed with this data, you can implement targeted policies that cut unnecessary spending and ensure your print environment is as efficient as possible.
We all know how frustrating it is when printer downtime or user errors slow productivity. ScrewDrivers Reports provides a centralized dashboard that gives you a real-time view of your entire print environment. Its proactive monitoring capabilities catch potential issues—like driver conflicts or printer errors—before they escalate, reducing the burden on your help desk and keeping your IT operations running smoothly.
An unsecured print environment isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a liability. ScrewDrivers Reports offers robust security features that monitor and control access to printers and sensitive documents. With detailed logging and audit trails, you can ensure compliance with regulations like HIPAA and PCI 4.0. Real-time monitoring helps you spot unauthorized access or suspicious activities before they escalate.
Consumables—paper, toner, and ink—are ongoing costs that can sneak up on you if you’re not paying attention. Without accurate tracking, it’s easy to overspend. ScrewDrivers Reports provides comprehensive usage analytics, allowing you to monitor how much paper, toner, and ink are being used—and by whom. This helps you implement effective cost-control measures, like limiting color printing or encouraging double-sided printing, leading to more efficient resource use and lower overall costs.
One of the most frustrating parts of managing a large print environment is dealing with issues after they’ve already disrupted operations. ScrewDrivers Reports takes a proactive approach, offering real-time monitoring of your print infrastructure. The system uses SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) to continuously check the status of all networked printers so you can catch potential problems—like low toner levels, paper jams, or device errors—before they cause any downtime.
Andrew Parlette, our CPO, sums the importance of developing a proactive maintenance system:
Optimizing your maintenance process and not waiting for that first printer to go down for a user to find out, open up a ticket, and then resolve it... trying to get ahead of that and gain insights...to create a system where downtime is reduced at the root.
With ScrewDrivers Reports, you get immediate alerts when something goes wrong, allowing you to schedule maintenance conveniently and avoid costly disruptions. Plus, the system’s historical data analysis helps you identify recurring issues and optimize your maintenance schedules to extend your devices’ lifespan.
ScrewDrivers Reports excels at tracking every single print job with a high level of detail. Each job is logged with metadata, including:
This data is key to optimizing your print environment. You can spot trends, enforce print policies, and ensure resources are being used wisely. The software also offers real-time monitoring of your printers using SNMP data, providing a live feed of each device’s operational state. This includes:
With this level of visibility, you can proactively manage your print environment, reducing emergency fixes and improving overall uptime.
Help desk tickets related to printing issues can be a huge drain on IT resources. ScrewDrivers Reports tackles this by providing tools to address issues before they become user problems. With proactive monitoring and detailed analytics, you can significantly reduce the number of print-related tickets, freeing up your IT team to focus on more strategic tasks.
ScrewDrivers Reports isn’t just about monitoring—it’s about making your life easier. The software’s automated reporting features eliminate the need for manual data gathering, and its intuitive interface makes it easy to access and interpret critical data. This automation can reduce the time spent on print-related tasks by up to 75%, allowing your team to focus on more strategic projects.
One of the great things about ScrewDrivers Reports is how easily it integrates with your existing IT infrastructure. Whether you’re running on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid setup, the software scales effortlessly to meet the needs of your organization, including:
ScrewDrivers Reports isn’t just about gathering data—it’s about making that data work for you. The software integrates seamlessly with business intelligence (BI) tools, allowing you to perform advanced analysis using SQL queries and data lakes. This capability enables you to uncover trends, identify inefficiencies, and make informed decisions that drive your print management strategy forward.
Compliance with regulations is a critical concern in many industries, especially those handling sensitive information like healthcare and finance. Auditing printer usage and tracking printed documents is not just a best practice and a legal requirement for many organizations—it’s part of a larger strategy to avoid security breaches and hefty costs of recovery or fines.
ScrewDrivers Reports offers advanced print server auditing capabilities that allow you to track and audit every print job across your network. Detailed logging and thorough audit reports ensure compliance with industry standards and the ability to immediately address unauthorized printing.
As we look ahead to 2025, optimizing your print environment should be a top priority. ScrewDrivers Reports gives you real-time alerts, proactive maintenance, and detailed analytics—all the tools you need to keep things running smoothly and securely.
Plus, with Tricerat’s 24/7 technical support, you’re never alone. Whether you need help with setup, troubleshooting, or optimizing your print environment, our experts are available to provide the assistance you need whenever you need it.
With ScrewDrivers Reports, you’re not just fixing problems—you’re preventing them from happening in the first place. This proactive approach results in fewer help desk tickets, lower consumable costs, and improved productivity across your IT operations. Get a free trial today and unlock the full potential of your print environment.
