You may not realize it, but controlling some of the specific document production factors in your company can have a very substantial impact on your bottom line.
Many document service providers are developing or already offer an initiative called managed print services that can help get those costs under control.
“The idea behind managed print services is to take a look at the entire print output capacity of the customer from all aspects,” says Richard Melez, manager of managed print services for Toshiba Business Solutions. “Typically, copier dealers have always wanted to sell hardware and place multi-functional products (MFPs) out there at customer offices. Generally, those machines run at considerably greater efficiency and less cost than regular printers.”
But replacing traditional printers with MFPs is only one way to reduce document output costs with a managed print services program.
Smart Business spoke with Melez about how you can set up a managed print services program in your company.
What exactly does a managed print services strategy entail?
Typically, copier dealers compete with printers. But elaborate studies have shown how migrating your copy volume from a printer fleet to MFPs can save you enormous amounts of money. Dealers have found along the way that they would show a customer these savings, but in practice customers would not eliminate the less-efficient printers that they previously had.
It is highly recommended that you move those printers or stop using them. But for one reason or another, whether it is inertia within the company, practice or convenience, customers continue making prints on their less-efficient printers.
Managed print services programs are designed to encompass the customer’s entire account. Document service providers wanted to address the workplace inertia situation specifically. So with their infrastructure, service capacity, inventory capacity and distribution capacity, they are able to service and supply not only their own fleet of MFPs but can also provide parts, delivery and everything else for a customer’s competing printing devices. In a nutshell, that is what a managed print services program does — completely manage a company’s output capacity.
