Printers. Multi-function devices. Scanners. Fax machines. Do you know how many your company is using? Can you guess how much they are being used or how much they cost you each month? If you wanted to consolidate and manage your printers as a single print fleet for cost efficiency, would you know how to do this?
If you are struggling to answer any of the above questions, then you know that your print resources may be out of control.
Gordon Flesch Company (GFC) has been in business since 1956 and if there’s one thing we’ve learned from our experience, it’s that every business has a choice to make when it comes to their print environment. Either keep adding single devices as your business grows. Or evaluate the total needs of your business and streamline your print environment to optimize usage and decrease wasted resources.
No one likes wasted resources. Running more print devices than you really need costs money, especially if the devices are out of date or frequently out of action. Even worse, this situation can open you up to new cybersecurity risks.
Let’s take a closer look at the concept of Managed Print and how GFC offers truly hassle-free print management through our imageCARE+ service program. In this article, we’ll discuss:
Many office technology providers offer Managed Print to their customers. Typically, this is represented by a service that streamlines and manages an organization’s printers and copiers. As a hired partner, an office technology provider will have the specialized skills and experience required to help their customer cut costs, streamline processes, improve security and provide a more useful print environment for their users.
The specifics of how this is done, differs by provider. That’s why it’s a best practice to evaluate your choices for best fit, before signing a Managed Print agreement. You should look for a provider that is in tune with your business – both today and poised for growth into the future.
INFOGRAPHIC: Go Green With Managed Print
At GFC, we call our Managed Print Services (MPS), imageCARE+. Our approach is to “Manage all things print” and we mean it. If you have a device at your organization that prints or handles documents – we can manage it and make it more efficient. Our goal is to develop an organization-specific roadmap, designed to create an efficient and tightly managed print environment.
With imageCARE+, your company can know if it is getting the best use out of its machines or whether resources are being wasted. Your staff may be printing to devices which aren’t best suited to their needs or printing pages that just go to waste. MPS is something GFC has been doing for a long time and we’ve often helped organizations save 30 to 50 percent on their printing costs.
As many organizations have no centralized control or management of devices, it can be difficult to identify where savings could be realized. GFC’s MPS Business Analysts begin by assessing the number and deployment of devices at your organization. We know that too many devices can be a resource drain. Therefore, a strategic plan can lower power consumption, improve workflow potential – and lower print-related operating costs.
This kind of strategic planning is not very common in the office technology industry. A small office technology company might claim that they offer Managed Print, but they don’t often have the resources to truly optimize your fleet. A small MPS provider might take over your existing fleet and monitor usage, but other than delivering supplies and service when needed, little else will change.
At GFC, our imageCARE+ service is put in place by a team of MPS Business Analysts who are experts in doing an assessment of your environment. The problem we so often see is that in addition to having no device strategy in place, there may also be little control over what people print and why people print what they print. Without proper end-user controls in place, these devices are also open scanning on-ramps to your network, meaning your devices are less than secure.
To address potential security concerns, our analysts will ensure that the configuration of your print fleet is optimized to reduce possible security vulnerabilities. If there are gaps in your print security, we will identify them and suggest a tailored solution to eliminate risk factors and keep your devices and networks safe.
For example, this might involve implementing hard-drive encryption and swipe-to-print software and firmware, scheduling regular assessments and restricting entry points from malware or viruses. Our team will also work with you to minimize internal security and compliance concerns.
The bottom line is that printing inefficiencies waste time and money. Your staff may be printing to devices which aren’t best suited to their needs. If a device is down, people may print to it without realizing, then must go back and forth between the printer and their computer to figure out what went wrong. And when someone prints a document and it comes out wrong or makes too many copies – paper and ink are wasted!
We can provide a solution to manage and track these inefficient behaviors, getting your spending under control and making the lives of your staff, easier. Print management software can be set up to require a secure log-in, which enables the tracking of all user activity. With Follow Me printing you can go to any printer (which you have been assigned access), log in and get the documents you need, when you need them. We can also offer badge authentication, where a user swipes their programmed badge (or enters their PIN code) to access a device for copying, scanning or printing purposes.
As part of our imageCARE+ service program, we don’t just fix the issue(s) at hand, we also proactively search for other potential problems. A thorough review of your device may reveal worn parts during the same service call – predicting risks that might lie ahead.
In fact, our technicians receive bonuses based upon the time between calls. And with remote monitoring and just-in-time service, paper, toner and supplies can be delivered when you need them. This minimizes expensive stockpiles of supplies sitting around. And when you do need help, the myGFC app and myGFC portal are there to report and track any of your service needs.
At Gordon Flesch Company, Managed Print is more than just printer service. Our imageCARE+ service program takes a modern, holistic approach to managing print technology and workflows. Contact us today for a free printer assessment to find out if your company would benefit from imageCARE+.
