Like architects who dream of designing great palaces only to end up drawing plans for toilets, high-rolling IT directors may be less than enthused by the prospect of looking after printers and copiers.

But as HP and Xerox prepare to roll out a new fleet of technically-advanced, multifunctional, high-volume printers that can also do copying, it looks like such machines will soon be lumped under the IT director's ever-expanding umbrella of responsibilities.

So how should IT directors prepare for this growing burden on their network? Analysts such as Gartner suggest they should appoint an output czar - a person charged with ensuring that the firm's output systems run to plan, even if they include ageing copiers and printers.

The associated costs of printing and copying can be huge, so firms should investigate all kinds of ways to keep them as low as possible. And this means that they should carry out frequent audits of the cost per page of printing, based on their own experience rather than the glib estimates of manufacturers.

As part of this process, organisations should investigate the frequency and location of printer use. This could determine if some machines are redundant while others are overused. Only by carrying out ongoing fleet management will companies be able to eliminate surplus printers, copiers and fax machines.

Once high-use departments have been identified, there may be a case for reflecting their higher maintenance and purchase costs in the internal accounting system.

As the price of printers continues to tumble, it may be worth purchasing newer printers to cut back on maintenance costs. Many helpdesks field a lot of calls from angry users unable to print from machines that went out of date at around the time of William Caxton. The new generation of machines places an emphasis on delivering low-cost printing, aided by advanced management tools to ensure they stay online for longer.

The purchasing process is made all the sweeter by the fact that a number of manufacturers and resellers offer good trade-in deals on old equipment. The market has also been helped by the recent entrance of Dell, which is encouraging greater competition thanks to its focus on value for money.

Research suggests that many organisations are changing the way that they use printers. Gartner noted that use of colour printers in UK companies rose by over a third in 2002, as buyers were seduced by the lower prices and faster printing speeds of new machines.

Many companies are still put off colour printers by high running costs. However, manufacturers such as Xerox are developing colour machines that can print in black and white at the same cost as dedicated black and white machines.

What is really strange is that in this digital age there is such a huge reliance on paper documents. Most output consists of single-page print jobs for staff who are printing out items to make them easier to read.

Perhaps costs could be reduced by educating staff about the benefits of keeping documents in a digital format, and by ensuring they have access to collaboration software.

It ain't the most glamourous job, but if you don't control print costs now, your budgets may suffer...