Are Managed Print Services Worth It?

For starters, Managed Print Services (MPS) are services offered by external providers to manage and optimize the output of documents in a company. It involves needs assessment, supplying the parts needed to operate both the old and new hardware and the general or selective hardware replacements. 

If you subscribe for MPS, your vendor will track how your printers, copiers, fax machine, and multifunction printers (MFPs) are being used and troubleshoot any problem that might arise. Their scope of work doesn’t stop there. The vendor will take charge of all the printing responsibilities, including software provision, network setup, and network management. But the question remains, are Managed Print Services worth it? Let’s dig deeper to find out.

Benefits of Managed Print Services

If you aren’t sure whether MPS is something worth your attention,  the following benefits can help you make an informed decision:

1.Keep the technology used by your printer up-to-date

Managed print service providers are trained on all types of printers, copiers, and other printer-related equipment. Hiring them will guarantee that the technology used on your equipment is up-to-date. Using cutting-edge photocopier and printer technology will ensure your office operations are more efficient and less costly.

2.You’ll Receive Constant Supplies

With MPS, you’ll enjoy a seamless printing experience. Why? Your supplies will never run out. The providers have a remote tracking system that enables them to monitor ink and toner levels to replenish them before they run out.  You'll not need to monitor the ink and toner levels manually and place orders; everything will be taken care of.

3.Cost-saving

Cost-saving is perhaps the most important benefit you’ll derive from MPS. You may not know it, but print-related costs take a big chunk of your annual budget. In fact, it will come as a surprise once you realize that up to 15% of your budget could be going to printing and other related operations. Managed Print Services can help bring these costs down.

The provider will help track and control printing costs and enhance good printing habits by developing rules regulating the number of pages your employees can print and even the quality of the prints. They will also report to you all the costs related to printing so you can assign budgets to departments effectively. In essence, they’ll optimize resources and workflow to boost your profit margins.

4.More Efficient and Economical Use of Office Machines

A Managed Print Services provider will take inventory of all the printers, copiers, and other machines you have, then analyze their current use. If you have many printers, they’ll want to know the printing cost of each printer. They will then use software like Uniflow or Papercut to develop rules that will assign printing works to the printers in a way that minimizes costs.

5.Transparent and Simplified Billing

MPS will make it possible for you to track your printing costs. It will be like issuing you with a single invoice for all your printing operations. This can help you with budgeting since you’ll know what to allocate for your printing needs. You’ll also know how much you spend on each piece of equipment and department.

6.Real-time analysis

With MPS, you’ll not have to wait until the end of the month or financial period to know the usage of each printer and copier. The service includes tracking software (Papercut or Uniflow) that provides real-time analysis of each equipment usage.

The vendor can help you set up active directories with specific rules to help reduce printing costs. An example of a cost-cutting rule is that all emails be printed in black and white. This will reduce the use of color ink, which, in turn, will reduce the overall printing costs.

7.Allows Your IT staff to Focus More on Core Business Tasks

Once you subscribe to the Managed Print Services, your IT staff will be relieved from duties such as troubleshooting networking, printing, and photocopying issues, dealing with machine breakdowns, tracking ink and toner levels and usage, etc. Instead, they’ll focus on other duties that boost revenue, such as administrative duties, application development, programming, communication, technical and customer support, and company website maintenance.

8.Customized Solutions

MPS vendors will analyze your printing needs before developing customized solutions for your business. Normally, they tailor each MPS plan according to the specific requirements of a business. The vendor will review costs, printer usage, printing requirement, and the number of printers you have before designing a plan that’s efficient and cost-effective. Besides, MPS vendors are experts.

Experts can recommend the best printer and copier for you to suit your current business needs, whether you need a sturdy inkjet printer for your graphic design department or a sleek laser copier for the supplies department (or both).

9.Top-notch Security

MPS providers only deal with brands that continually update their security features. If your printer is connected to a network, it will act as an attack surface for cybercriminals. That explains why security is necessary. The security features offered by many MPS vendors are:

• Self-recovery from firmware malfunctions
• Program whitelisting
• Active dictionaries
• User authentication
• Chip protection (TPM 2.0)
• HCD-PP compliance

With all these, you can be 100% sure your printer’s network is safe and secured.

10.Streamline the Placement of Your Printer/Copier

An MPS provider will advise you on the best position to place your printer or copier. Equipment placement matters a lot. For example, you should place a printer where it is easily accessible to the employees who want to use it. If you place it at the wrong place, your employees will waste time walking across the office or building to print a document. Doing so will affect their efficiency and productivity.

Finally

You now have all the reasons to decide whether or not Managed Print Services is right for your business. Hopefully, you’ve decided to look for a vendor. If that’s the case, make sure you get an experienced and reliable vendor.

You can search a vendor online or ask for recommendations from friends or other businesses that have subscribed for this service. Remember, managed print services costs vary from one provider to the next, so you need to choose the vendor you can afford.