What Is Managed Print Services (MPS)?

Managed print services is often defined like this: A service offered by print providers to assist businesses with streamlining printer management and minimizing costs associated with printing. 

But…that’s kind of like defining a restaurant as an establishment that’s tasked with providing customers with food and beverage services. It’s 100% accurate, but what you receive will ultimately depend on the restaurant you choose. Managed print services is a really broad term, and the ROI you’ll get depends on the company you choose. 

Why Is It Important To Manage Your Print Fleet? 

Unmanaged print costs have sneaky a way of eating into profits. To be more specific, unmanaged print costs typically amount to  1 – 3% of an organization’s total revenue. Businesses may always need to print, but they don’t need to be wasteful about it. Unfortunately, many organizations’ print habits are secretly costing them a fortune. 

Some companies with one or two printing devices may not need to hire an outside provider to properly manage their print environment. But someone definitely needs to. 

Why Do Companies Outsource Their Print Management? 

Most organizations do not take the time to define a print strategy because it is time-consuming and falls low on the priority list. However, a lack of strategy can cost a lot of money in the long run. In fact, 90% of companies fail to track their printing costs — but if they did, they could actually reduce their printing expenditures by 10–30%.

Experienced managed print services providers have mastered efficiency in this field, providing the knowledge and expertise to perform these tasks efficiently and accurately. This allows your internal staff to stay focused on their priorities without frequent print-related interruptions, like paper jams and error messages. 

What Is Included With Managed Print?

By and large, you should expect most of the services listed below to be included in a provider’s managed print offering. However, you should read their service level agreement (SLA) thoroughly before you sign anything, and keep in mind that these agreements are negotiable.

Supply Ordering

Thanks to cutting-edge print management software, an excellent managed print services provider should be able to monitor your ink and toner levels to such a degree that they can also automate ordering. You’ll get the correct supplies delivered to you just as they’re needed, your staff won’t have to lift a finger, and you won’t have to tie up part of your budget in maintaining a large backstock. 

Yes, it’s convenient. But it also helps protect your office from toner pirates and other office supply scams.

Service and Maintenance

Most MPS programs include on-site service and repair, as well as parts replacement. Some providers, like Marco, will offer you a new piece of equipment if the costs for repair are higher than the value of the machine. The programs also typically include any travel time and labor required to service your machines at your location.

And remember that print management software bit from earlier? Depending on what your provider uses, they might also be able to see any wear and tear that might cause a device to malfunction and dispatch a technician — with the right part in hand — to swap it out before you experience a print disruption. 

Just keep in mind that just because your provider (or their technician) can tell that a part is on its last legs doesn’t mean they’re going to fix it proactively…

The MPS Dirty Secret You Should Know About

How proactive your provider behaves depends partly on their technology. But you should know their technician incentives also play a role. Some providers’ techs get paid more when they make more on-site visits, which, as you might imagine, means they get paid more when your equipment breaks down more often. We pay ours based on uptime, so the fewer disruptions you experience, the better our technicians do!

Help Desk Support

Also unique to some MPS providers is user help desk support. This service includes access to experienced, technology-savvy representatives during normal business hours. They will help you work through printing, scanning, copying, faxing, and basic network connectivity issues. An effective help desk is also equipped to help you work through and adjust to new or upgraded software on your equipment.

Other benefits associated with help desk support include adjusting to network changes, including the following:

• Replaced or upgraded workstations and/or servers
• IP address changes for equipment moves and changes
• Other related network connectivity issues

Today’s technology, however, is designed to work together. And some providers that only focus on print may be less able to help you troubleshoot issues that are software or network-related. 

If you’ve ever experienced difficulty connecting to a networked printer, you probably understand how frustrating it is when you aren’t sure what technology is actually causing a problem. That’s why getting print management from a more comprehensive provider can be worth far more than the same solution by a provider that only has print expertise. For example, at Marco, no matter what technology is actually responsible for causing a print problem, our experts can and will fix it.

Assessments and Reviews

Optimizing your print fleet isn’t just a one-time thing! A good provider shouldn’t make you wonder whether or not their services are still providing value for your company.

Initial Print Technology Assessments

An initial assessment will be done to determine the types and locations of your current print fleet, where improvements can be made, and where costs can be reduced. If you choose to implement a managed print services program, all of your activity will continually be monitored and tracked — even down to an exact department or user. A routine device usage report will automatically show how effectively your business uses your equipment. You can track and compare this information against previous reports to view improvements, additional inefficiencies, and overall use and productivity.

Recurring Business Reviews

Your managed print service provider should also perform a recurring business review to make sure your print strategy still aligns with your business initiatives. If your organization has grown, your print strategy may need to be tweaked to include additional equipment or resources. 

Our business reviews tend to be more thorough; we provide ongoing technology mentorship, detailed analytics so you can see exactly the value we’re providing to your organization, and additional cost-cutting strategies according to how your staff is actually using your equipment.

Print Security Services

Print security services are sometimes available from a provider but often come at an additional cost. We take a different approach at Marco because we feel that regardless of what industry you’re in or how you’re regulated, every business nowadays needs and deserves print security. We are happy to provide print security services at no additional charge. 

For devices that are set up or disposed of through a facility owned and operated by Marco (not dropship devices), our print security services include:

• Access to our dedicated print security team
• Secure passwords at setup that are unique to each client
• Multi-pass data overwrite of HDDs and NVRAM clearing
• Complimentary print security assessment
• Dedicated SOC Type 2 report for our MPS offering
• Auxiliary uplift services

Is MPS Worth It?