Most workers or IT people don’t like to think about their office printers or multifunction devices too much. They’re an integral part of every office, but most of us just expect them to be there, producing quality output whenever needed.
But what if your printers, copiers, or multi-function devices are not as productive as they could be? What if your print devices are draining resources or wasting your time and energy? Even if you have a managed print service, is your service provider strategically improving your print network? Are they being proactive, or is the service provider taking a set-it-and-forget-it approach, just standing by and ignoring print environment issues until something breaks?
Don’t just take our word for it. Here are five Managed Print Service (MPS) examples and testimonials from real-life people that answer important questions about MPS providers. They’ll help you determine whether MPS can truly improve your business, save IT resources and improve efficiency.
Definitely. A Managed Print provider will assess your current printers to determine which ones may still be usable and make cost-saving recommendations based on your specific needs. For some, it’s hard to believe that replacing inexpensive printers with quality machines can actually reduce print costs.
Take, for example, Batteries Plus Bulbs, a retailer with more than two dozen locations in Wisconsin alone. They relied on inexpensive printers to print invoices and shipping documents. However, they constantly broke down at the most inconvenient times and needed replacement. Plus, they were spending way too much on toner, paper and supplies.
With a Managed Print solution from Gordon Flesch Company (GFC), Batteries Plus Bulbs saved an astonishing $25,000 annually and slashed the number of abandoned print jobs. “GFC delivered new Lexmark printers, which are durable workhorses,” says Jason Thelen, Infrastructure Architect. “We’ve had no issues in months, employee satisfaction is better and we have lower overhead for the whole warehouse environment.”
Yes. If your MPS partner offers just-in-time delivery, there is no reason to have ANY toner on hand. A supply of paper next to your multi-function device should be your only stockpile. Everything else should be delivered as needed.
For example, Sauk Prairie Healthcare had too many printers and copiers and no way to manage them. Plus, the company had a stockpile of printing supplies that took up valuable space.
“We had a 4 by 4-foot room full of toner and supplies that we needed to get rid of,” says Rick Sauer, Director of Financial Services, Sauk Prairie Healthcare. “We were looking for a partner that could help us manage the machines we had and get control over our paper and toner usage.” Sauer says that eliminating toner and supply storage got rid of a logistical nuisance.
Probably. MPS is not just a program to manage the machines you already have; it should take stock of your resources and integrate them into a new, optimized system. When done properly, underused machines are eliminated and the remaining printers are merged into a network of newer multi-function devices. Old machines can be phased out until the printers you have work at peak efficiency.
As an example, Velocity Urgent Care is a medical provider in Virginia. As the organization grew quickly, they had to reallocate resources and purchase new devices to outfit new clinics.
At the start of the process, Velocity had 40 print machines for 7 locations. Today, the company has more than doubled its number of locations to 15 with only 41 machines . “Honestly, we had more printers than we needed,” said Freddie Lucas, IT Supervisor. “We found some machines that weren’t being used very much, so we’ve been able to reallocate devices and do more work without having to buy new machines.”
Yes. MPS takes advantage of managed print software solutions to track, control and manage usage. Consider Wisconsin Lutheran College, a liberal arts university with a nine-building campus near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When John Meyer became its Director of IT, there was no print management solution in place. Some print jobs were sent multiple times, piling up on printers and leading to waste and frustrated users. He wanted a document management solution to provide print and copy services to students, track and manage usage, enhance print security, reduce waste and recover the costs as part of each student’s tuition.
The Warrior OneCard is Wisconsin Lutheran College’s official photo identification card. It also serves as a keycard to access buildings, pay for campus meals and work out in the recreation complex. The GFC team integrated uniFLOW managed print software with their keycard system and the campus Microsoft Active Directory. Suddenly, all printing and scanning functions were integrated with every student’s personal account.
Meyer says the swipe to release function cut their paper usage in half almost immediately, reducing their carbon footprint. “Suddenly, we didn’t have backed up printers, there were no lines of people waiting, and we saw a huge savings,” he says.
Yes. A Managed Print Service is the best possible solution for controlling print costs, and that includes eliminating fraud. For many years, Blanchard Valley Health System’s (BVHS) printer fleet was supplied, managed and serviced by several different vendors. BVHS added 70 devices to GFC’s imageCARE program, and still saved an additional 50% with new, monthly cost savings of $900.
“Before working with GFC, there was no real system for tracking and managing purchases,” says Amos Cramer, Information Services Supervisor. “Now our maintenance, toner and supplies are delivered just in time by GFC.”
Notably, Amos Cramer received an invoice for toner cartridges from a disreputable IT services company. But since their entire printer fleet is managed by GFC, it was obvious that it was an attempted fraud. “One great thing about having our Managed Print Service is that it eliminates the possibility that we will get hit by a toner scheme or false invoices…even if we get an invoice that looks genuine, I know without checking that it’s not legitimate.”
These are just a few of the many Managed Print Service examples of how today’s Managed Print solutions can benefit organizations of all sizes in unexpected ways. If you’d like to discover the benefits of a true printing strategy and Managed Print program for your organization, contact us today for a no-cost, no-obligation Managed Print Needs Assessment.
