September 28, 2022
Let’s save a bit of time, shall we? To answer the question, yes. Managed Print Services is worth it. However, since Marco provides Managed Print Services (MPS), you might wonder if our answer isn’t, perhaps, a bit biased.
As one of the top print provider in the country, we are in a unique position to see how our clients benefit from what we do. Not all managed print providers are the same, but our managed print clients save 30% or more on their print-related expenses. To understand why that would be a big deal for your office, you’d need to get a sense of how much your total print expenses are. But that’s not always an easy number to find. These statistics are shocking, but they add some much-needed clarity: 90% of companies don’t track their printing costs, but on average, a company will spend $725 on print costs per employee per year.
What Are Managed Print Services?
Managed print services include comprehensive management of all printing and imaging devices, like printers, fax machines, copiers, and multifunction devices, with the goal of reducing costs and workplace frustration and saving time.
What Do You Get With Managed Print Services?
A good MPS provider will start by conducting a print assessment to determine what your office is printing, how much, and on what devices. They’ll help you make informed decisions about your equipment and print policies and take on maintenance, troubleshooting, and supply ordering. Print management software like PaperCut can also be used to help your office reduce print waste and boost security.
That’s where it ends for most MPS providers, but if you’ve been reading about printer vulnerabilities, you might also be in the market for an MPS provider that also helps secure your entire fleet from hackers.
Marco’s Print Security Services
At the time of writing this blog, other providers don’t include additional print security services as part of their standard MPS offering. However, we believe that no matter your size, your industry, or your compliance requirements, every client deserves cybersecurity protection.
To be fair, most MPS simply don’t have the size to accommodate this additional, yet important service, but at Marco, we are able to make this commitment to all of our MPS clients, and we hope others that are able will join us.
Our MPS offerings include:
- Access to our dedicated print security team
- Secure, unique passwords that are unique to each client for every device that’s set up at one of our facilities
- Multi-pass data overwrite of HDDs and NVRAM clearing for every device that’s returned to one of our facilities
- Print security assessment
- Dedicated SOC 2 Type 2 report for MPS
- Auxiliary uplift services upon request
Benefits of Managed Print Services
Who loves a good managed print story? We do. Our MPS case studies paint a vivid picture of what managed print services can do when put into practice. It’s rare that a single service can save you money, save time, secure your data, and make your workplace a less frustrating place to be, but that’s exactly the experience our clients get from us. But apart from the big-picture benefits, there are a few finer points that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Less Stress for Your IT Folks
According to a study by Gartner, 50% of Help Desk calls are printer-related. If your IT department is often overwhelmed and can’t keep up with software patches and the like, the culprit may be your print fleet. With an MPS provider, all the troubleshooting and maintenance is taken care of, and your IT department will get one giant responsibility taken off its plate.
Less Waste and More Privacy
Have you ever sent something to a networked printer and forgotten about it? You’re not alone. A study from Xerox found that 30% of print jobs are never picked up. It’s a wasteful habit, but depending on what you’re printing, it could also leave sensitive data around for prying eyes. Your MPS provider can suggest secure printing solutions that will only release a print job when an authorized user is at the printer.
Less Risk of Fraud
Even though cybersecurity gobbles up most of the headlines, toner pirates and other office supply scammers are still bilking organizations out of millions. With an MPS provider, your printing supplies will arrive just when you need them, and it will be easier to spot a questionable invoice.
More Environmentally Friendly
In addition to cutting down on paper waste, your MPS provider will also take a hard look at your fleet’s energy consumption. It’s not uncommon for organizations to have more printers than they really need, and for them to hold on to old printing equipment past its useful lifespan. Older equipment isn’t as energy efficient, and it may be costing you more than you think.
Less Downtime
Printers aren’t always treated well. They look like hardy pieces of equipment, but they are sophisticated devices that need care and maintenance. An MPS provider will give them the regular care and attention they need, so you’ll experience fewer disruptions and frustrations when it comes time to print.
What To Ask a Managed Print Provider
If you’ve already figured out that an MPS provider is the best next step for your organization, you still have a bit of research to do. Not every MPS provider offers the same services, and you’ll want to make sure the Service Level Agreement (SLA) they offer clearly indicates what responsibilities they’re taking on and which they’re leaving to you.
Here are some questions that might give you a better idea of which MPS provider will be the best fit:
- How will we communicate and request services?
- What services and supplies are included in your offering?
- What is your guaranteed response time for any troubleshooting and repairs?
- What guarantees do you offer on your equipment?
- How will you be able to secure printed documents?
- If you use secure printing software, also called pull printing or Follow Me printing, will users be able to just swipe a badge or card, or will they need to require codes?
- What other security services come standard?
- Who is responsible for updating device default passwords or erasing memory on decommissioned devices?
- Who is responsible for updating software and firmware on your devices?
- Do you have strong relationships with top manufacturers, and can you provide best-in-class support on these machines?
- How will you identify more ways to reduce waste and save money over time?
- Can your services scale up or down quickly?
Managed Print Services the Easy Way
Okay, you got us. The reason we’ve been this thorough in listing out these questions is that many clients may not understand how vulnerable their printers actually are, and whose responsibility it is to secure their fleet. Even something as simple as updating default passwords on printing equipment is often overlooked — 40% of IT security professionals admit they don’t change them.
Are you 100% sure that no unsecured networked printers are lurking in your office? If not, it makes your next steps clearer. After all, you shouldn’t be paying someone to take care of your entire fleet and still be worrying whether or not your data and network are secure. Sometimes it’s nice to give smaller companies a chance, but print management is best left to seasoned pros. Marco has been in business since 1973; we’ve built strategic relationships with the top manufacturers and can provide best-in-class support and unrivaled security for the very best price.
