What is Color Tracking, and What are the Benefits?

Do you know how much your organization is spending on color prints? When was the last time that you took a look at your printing records, or your invoices? 

Printing can become a big cost for businesses that aren’t keeping up with their print volume, and especially color printing. That’s why as an experienced print vendor we recommend all businesses to utilize some form of print management or color tracking.  

What is Color Tracking? 

Color tracking refers to the process of regulating color prints and controlling the costs by using a form of print management. 

This feature allows users to view and manage who within their organization can print, color or black and white, how much they can print, and even when they can print. They can then set limits and conditions to control printing costs.  

What is Xerox’s Version of Color Tracking?

Xerox’s version of color tracking is embedded into Xerox Standard Accounting, a broader standard feature that comes with most Xerox equipment.  

With Xerox Standard Accounting, administrators can track, analyze, and limit device usage. Color tracking is easy to set up and maintain in environments where a single code could be distributed to allow certain individuals to produce color outputs. This way most employees can still print, copy, and scan without having to enter a code unless they are printing or copying in color.  

How Can Color Tracking Benefit My Business? 

Printing in color is expensive. It’s even more expensive when your employees don’t realize that they’re doing it, since black and white prints can register as color even if the majority of the document is not in color. For example, if all the text and formatting on the page is in black and white, but there is a logo at the bottom in color, then you are being charged for a color print.  

By utilizing color tracking, not only can you manage access to your devices, but you can gather data related to your machine’s print, copy, scan, and fax outputs by black and white and color prints.  

With this tool, you’re able to track costs, usage, and ensure that you’re maintaining your budget properly because once you know where your costs are coming from, you can better regulate them.  

Most organizations have the need to print some color occasionally but are hesitant about purchasing a color machine because they are worried the amount of color printing will get out of control. What they don’t realize controlling color printing is as simple as turning on color tracking. When this feature is turned on, you can have the printer you need, while maintaining control of color usage.  

How Do I Turn on Color Tracking?  

To utilize color tracking, first enable Xerox Standard Accounting, which comes standard with the device. Once Xerox Standard Accounting is turned on, it’s typically managed by network administrators and IT personnel through Xerox’s embedded web server. 

For detailed instructions on how to enable color tracking on an AltaLink device, read Xerox's article on how to set service tracking options for Xerox Standard Accounting.

What Other Color Tracking Software Is Available? 

If you don’t have a Xerox device or are looking for something a little more powerful, there are a plethora of other color tracking software that can be purchased and utilized by your organization.  

Y-Soft SafeQ 

Y-Soft SafeQ is a print management suite, just like Xerox Standard Accounting, that also controls costs by tracking, analyzing, and managing your printing usage. With it, you can set individual or departmental limits on printing, such as the type of print, and whether it’s black and white or color.  

Y-Soft SafeQ has several additional features that set it apart from Xerox Standard Accounting, however. The first is that Y-Soft SafeQ can be managed from one centralized dashboard, whereas Xerox Standard Accounting is on a machine-by-machine basis. This makes Y-Soft more suitable for businesses or organizations that have a larger fleet, or a fleet that is spread throughout multiple locations.  

Y-Soft SafeQ features all the same main functions as XSA and additionally includes print roaming, also known as “follow me print”, meaning users can print from whichever device they’re closest to. For more information on the differences between the two, read our article on Y-Soft SafeQ vs. Xerox Standard Accounting.  

PaperCut 

PaperCut is another print management suite available for purchase, similar to Y-Soft SafeQ, that performs many of the same functions, but is structured a bit differently. Y-Soft SafeQ is separated into several modules and functions, and businesses can pick and choose which ones they’d like. PaperCut is offered in specific versions: PaperCut NG, PaperCut MF, PaperCut Hive, and PaperCut Pocket.  

Related reading: Print Management Software: Y-Soft SafeQ vs. Papercut 

Give Color Tracking a Try!

Color tracking is a useful tool for any organization, regardless of the industry, that wants to be mindful about its printing budget. With the information from this article, you can now see the benefits of implementing a print management program, and learning more about your organization’s printing habits, saving you a significant amount of money in the long run.