Managed Print Service for Printer Fleets?

The hype around Managed Print Services is deafening! Everyday I'm coming across information about how good it is to have a Managed Print Service Program, well..... it's great for the provider of the program and may or may not be right for every client.

I have no idea how many laser printers or inkjet printers are sold every year to commercial businesses. What I do see, is a multitude of printers in the commercial work place, in some businesses there is one for each employee!

1. Do I need a Managed Print Services Program for my Fleet of Printers? False.... What you need to do is eliminate most of these printers and strategically replace them with work group Multifunctional Systems or Multifunctional Devices (Same thing, a digital copier that will print scan, fax and copy). You will lower your cost per page, produce less paper, and increase productivity! The Office Equipment Dealers can then monitor page usage, supply levels, and service from a remote location. In essence they will manage your fleet of MFP's while reducing your cost per page and increasing your IT productivity. This will ease your pain!

2. Can I increase my IT departments productivity and save money? True (somewhat)... but you won't save as much if you eliminated the fleet of printers and went with MFP's. You could also stand to save a bundle buy reducing the energy needed for all those laser printers.

3. Can they really provide excellent service, provide parts and support for all my fleet of printers? True and False

False; especially if your fleet has multiple models from multiply manufacturers. In my 29 years in the field, I've only seen a handful of accounts that had printers from one manufacturer. Nine times out of ten, it's a hodgepodge of different models and different manufacturers. HP, Epson, Lexmark and the rest will not give tech support nor parts support to non-authorized resellers.

True; If all of your printers are from one manufacturer and the company that is offering the Print Managed Program is an authorized service provide, then they will be able to support these systems. The goal for the provider is to get their systems in place, and most likely when a printer fails they may replace it or sell you one that they can provide support for.

Basically, if you don't have the time to manage your printers and you can't replace them with MFP's, then you may be the right candidate for a MPS program. However, if you do your homework, you will have a greater return on your investment by eliminating printers. For some this may be a hard pill to swallow. But there are really some incredible print features that will take the printing pain away, such as secure print, locked print, print2mailbox, hold print, store and hold print.

Take the time to investigate what options are out there and don't jump at the first option that is proposed. Have an analysis done of who prints what, when they print, how much they print, and what types of media that is required. If you do that you'll be able to make the right choice.

-=Good Selling=-