Cutting The Cost Of Print With Managed Print Services

There is a growing awareness that companies don't have to live with unchecked or high end printing costs, instead they are turning to a company that can offer professional managed print services.

Any business that thinks that it has looked at all areas of cutting unnecessary expense out of their IT operations, may have over looked the costs associated with printing, these may be preventable costs.

Some organisations do not calculate the cost of printing and do not include it in their budget as it is so far under the radar.  It is the associated costs of printing that makes it such a high expenditure; organisations forget about hardware needed, toner replacement, ink cartridges, paper usage and the IT management overheads. This oversight is partly due to this equipment being funded by numerous budgets within the organisation.  Hardware equipment will usually come from capital expenses, supplies stationary budget and electricity usage from the facilities budget. This means that print costs can go un-managed or not documented in order for the company to see it's actual cost. 

There is a growing awareness that companies don't have to live with unchecked or high end printing costs, instead they are turning to a company that can offer professional managed print services.  By turning their printing environment over to a specialist in print services they are able to help save money on printing, optimise their resources associated with print and relieve their IT support of their responsibilities. 

The benefits of implementing a managed print service is usually most beneficial for organisations that are highly document reliant. Hotels or restaurants for example, may see savings of up to 41% with a professional managed service; Info Trends the research teams reported that finance firms and the healthcare industry could look at a saving of up to 33% and 27%.

Managed print service contracts are available with a variety of options however, most should start with the service provider carrying out an assessment of the organisation’s current printing costs, needs and hardware to understand exactly how much it costs and the savings they can make to the business.

The printing service provider will then turn the assessment information into an opportunity to find ways of cutting down the use of unnecessary equipment. Managed print service level agreements should include the ongoing assessment of the printing volume so that the provider can ensure that printers always have enough stock of toner or ink.

Managed print service providers will usually also maintain any equipment and fix breakdowns that may occur. The  organisation will usually pay a monthly fee that is often quoted on a per page rate negotiated and documented in the service level agreement. The monthly fee will usually cover the acquisition of any new equipment to replace faulty hardware, maintenance services and consumables.

There are many advantages to investing in a managed print service company taking over the control of printing within an organisation that relies highly on print.  A central point devised to managing print can lead to huge cost savings, a more efficient printing process, less energy used, more environmentally friendly products used leading to a more environmentally friendly printing process.  A company reliant on high printing volumes can save up to 700 metric tons of paper annually and reduce 40% of energy used. (This is only estimation from the experts within this field).

As a business or a company director, it is well worth looking further in to managed print services in order to reduce costs within your organisation.  

Visit ZenOffice MPS to find out how your organisation can start to save money on a more efficient printing process

Subjects