If your office prints, stores, and files documents regularly, you know how vital it is to have high-end office equipment. However, having the right multifunction printer is only one piece of the puzzle. There are so many other elements to consider, such as print costs, replacement ink or toner cartridges, printer malfunctions, paper types, and more. When you add everything together, how efficient and cost-effective is your printing setup? Fortunately, with Managed Print Services (MPS), you can alleviate many of these potential issues by passing the burden of managing your printing devices to an office technology expert. This article will outline the basics of MPS and why it might be right for your business.
Managed Print Services 101
As we mentioned, there are a lot of responsibilities that go into managing your print environment. Some of these elements include:
- Ink or Toner Cartridges – When you run out of these do your workflows come to a halt? How can you prevent this from happening without keeping a stockpile of extra cartridges in your office taking up space and potentially expiring before you even use them?
- Repairs/Troubleshooting – If your printer stops working, who do you call? Do you have a dedicated IT team, or do you have to source a repair technician on the fly? What is the turnaround time for these fixes and how much might they cost you?
- Upgrades/Replacements – Once your printer stops working or becomes obsolete, do you have to buy a new one? What is the process for that? Are you stuck working with devices that can’t handle your workload?
In addition to these variables, do you generate usage reports for your devices? How many sheets of paper do you print in a day, a week, a month? Are your print costs out of control? Overall, MPS can answer all of these questions and more. Rather than having to do the work yourself, you can outsource this responsibility to an MPS provider that will handle everything for you.
The Benefits of Managed Print Services
With so many variables in play, it can be overwhelming to try and manage your printing needs in-house. Unless you have a dedicated print manager, many problems can fall through the cracks. Here are some of the top advantages of partnering with an MPS provider.
A Dedicated Support Team
Chances are that most of your employees are not printing experts. Troubleshooting problems can limit productivity and potentially damage your devices. With Managed Print Services, your workers no longer shoulder the burden of resolving printer issues to get your devices up and running again. Instead, you’ll be able to rely on a team of trained and experienced print professionals who possess the knowledge and resources needed to service your printer and get it back to work.
Usage Assessment
If you’re not sure how many printing supplies you use regularly, it can be impossible to understand costs and eliminate waste. An MPS provider can come into your office and perform an audit of your print usage. From there, the provider can help you eliminate waste and redundancies to improve efficiency and eliminate wasteful printing.
Cost Savings
While you do have to pay a monthly fee for Managed Print Services, it can enable you to lower your print spend by up to 30 percent. Not to mention what you’ll gain from reducing downtime with your devices through…
Repairs and Maintenance
If your printer goes down, you don’t have to scramble to find and call a technician then wait until they show up. Instead, you’ll have a team of service experts on call and ready to come by and get your machine up and running in far less time. For offices with tight schedules and deadlines, this peace of mind can be invaluable. They’ll also mitigate printer issues altogether through regular preventative maintenance.
Upgrades and Replacement
Your Managed Print Services provider assess your printing fleet and determine areas for improvement. They can eliminate redundant or inefficient devices, offer replacement models that better meet your needs, and relocate devices in your office based on your workflows to optimize efficiency.
Automatic Supply Replenishment
Have you ever run out of ink or toner right in the middle of a job when you’ve got a tight deadline to meet? That won’t be an issue with Managed Print Services. With your provider remotely monitoring your devices, they’ll know when it’s time to replenish them with consumables and automatically send a shipment BEFORE you run out.
Why Managed Print Services is Right for Your Business
If printing remains essential for your office, then Managed Print Services will yield significant benefits for you. As we’ve illustrated, MPS has so many advantages that it doesn’t make sense to try and handle everything yourself. Your MPS provider will ensure that your business and its document workflows run at peak efficiency while lowering how much you spend on printing. Overall, with MPS, you get:
- Peace of Mind – Never worry about a malfunctioning printer, running out of supplies, or having to resolve printer issues.
- Access to Better Equipment – Your MPS provider will ensure you have access to the latest, greatest in printing technology.
- Improved Worker Satisfaction – MPS empowers employees to focus on their own responsibilities because they no longer have to install, set up, or troubleshoot printers anymore.
If you’re ready to take advantage of Managed Print Services for your office, contact Buckmaster Office Solutions today. We can set up a free assessment for your Sacramento-based organization to gain an understanding of your printing environment and show you how we can optimize it.