Printers are the unsung heroes of the office work space. They serve multiple functions inside various departments, and for the most part they plug away at the daily workload thrown at them dutifully without any hiccups.
But, in life, sometimes you do not know what you have until it is gone. Such is the case when your main office printer prematurely runs out of toner or randomly breaks down without a repair technician available. When the office comes to a screeching halt, you realize the importance of keeping your printers up and running.
Without the proper support system in place, your employees may have to stop what they are doing while this printer issue is fixed. All the while you are left staring at the broken machine like:
I have good news for you though: there is a fool proof way to prevent running out of toner, and having machines constantly break down. In fact, you can take printers off your mind completely so you can focus on your actual job. All while saving your business money in the process.
The answer is Managed Print Services, aka MPS.
Managed Print Service providers partner with businesses to manage their entire fleet of printers, copiers, fax machines, and multi function devices. A MPS provider, such as Datarite Limited, will deliver supplies, service all equipment, and also lease new hardware if the existing hardware is no longer efficient. All for a low monthly fee based upon your monthly page usage, which they discover for you as part of a free workplace assessment.
The bottom line is that EVERY business, big or small, can benefit from partnering with a MPS provider. Here are the Top 10 Reasons Why:
#1 : Automated delivery of supplies - before you need them!
We are automatically alerted by email whenever any of your devices gets below 15% ink or toner levels. We then deliver you the toner the very next day, so the moment the cartridge runs out you have a spare to replace it - without holding thousands of dollars worth of toner inventory in your stock room. That is a waste of space and more importantly, cash flow.
If there was a solution that could help prevent problems in other areas of your business before they happened I am sure you would be intrigued. Why not take the possibility of a printing disaster off the table?
For some business owners this automated supply delivery system alone is a good enough reason to sign up for a Managed Print Services program. If reason #1 has you sold on MPS, learn more about how to get started here.
#2: Lower your operating costs
By paying full retail price for ink and toner your business is wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere. MPS providers have wholesale pricing agreements with most major manufacturers, giving you the inside edge on the lowest prices for supplies.
Other costs to consider are what you pay for service calls for a technician every time a printer breaks down. Within a MPS deal, all service calls are included at no extra charge, no matter what.
Our free consultations can also point out older, inefficient devices that are very expensive to operate. New printers require much less toner to operate, similar to how newer cars are more fuel efficient than in the past. Quite often, it is less expensive to lease a brand new device than it is to operate the old one. Which leads me to my next point:
#3 Wholesale Prices on Hardware with Leasing & Financing Options
MPS dealers have wholesale pricing agreements with major manufacturers on the hardware devices themselves, as well as the supplies. In fact, you can get incredible deals on hardware with MPS companies for one simple reason: The profit margins in our business are in supplying the ink and toner, so it is worth our while to sell the printer at a loss if it means securing your business for the supplies.
Think of how a grocery store will sell milk at a loss to draw you into the store, knowing you will inevitably by other items where they actually make a profit. It's the same concept. If you want an absolute steal on your next hardware purchase, seek out a managed print services provider in your area to see what they can do for you.
#4: Save on Your Power Bill, and Save the Environment
New printing devices are not only cheaper to operate, they are much more energy efficient and eco-friendly as well. Hewlett-Packard devices offer a feature called Auto On/Off where the printer will go into sleep mode when it is not in use to conserve energy, but can start back up and complete a job in less than 10 seconds. Every single one of HP's new devices in Energy Star rated as well.
Most of us are trying to make at least a small effort to become more eco-friendly in our daily lives to do our part to protect the environment. We should also extend those attitudes to our workplace.
Saving money on the power bill every month doesn't hurt either.
#5: Your IT Department Will Love You For It
IT Departments HATE printers. Every one of them.
Think about it, your company hired brilliant minds to solve complex issues for your business, and most of them are making a handsome salary to perform that service for you. So why are they spending their valuable time fixing printer jams or restocking paper trays?
That's like hiring Gordon Ramsay to come into your home and cook you Kraft Dinner - he can do so much more with his talents. So can your IT Department.
When you partner with a MPS provider, they automatically handle all service calls, repairs, complaints, and any other minor annoyances that may arrive. Think about all the extra work your IT Department will get done when they aren't bombarded with constant questions about your printing devices.
If you are not convinced yet, here are some more ways Managed Print Services can benefit your IT Department and your business overall.
#6: The Service Calls & Repairs are No Extra Charge
Not only will a MPS provider save you time by being automatically alerted to error codes and responding immediately, it will also send those technicians at no extra charge.
You simply pay a low monthly fee which does not fluctuate (reconciliations based on page usage volume and conducted quarterly). Providers such as Datarite have an in house team of expert technicians and never outsource any of their repair work.
For a quick video describing how Managed Print Services assessment and billing works, click here.
#7: Cost Certainty for the Lifetime of Your Agreement
With a MPS agreement, you can lock in your cost of toner, supplies and service for the lifetime of the contract. Anytime the cost of toner or maintenance supplies rises your business will remain unaffected. Not to mention the rising price of things such as the fuel required to drive delivery trucks to your business and other miscellaneous factors that can drive up the cost of products over time.
Cost certainty in any business is a good thing. It allows you to project farther into the future with more confidence, and because the bill remains the same monthly you do not have to constantly justify it to your accounting department.
#8: Overall Increased Productivity for Your Business
So you saw the light and contacted your local managed print services provider for a free consultation. They took 2-4 weeks to analyze your workplace, and then proposed a solution to lower your costs and automate your supply delivery. You sign the contract, almost as an after thought in your day. After all, you have more important things to worry about than printers. The thing is, all of your employees have more important things to worry about than printers as well. Which is why you will notice so many benefits around your office after your MPS agreement begins.
Suddenly, your IT Department is getting twice as much work done without constantly handling printer issues. Without having to worry about running out of toner, your marketing department can print off those new brochures in color instead of a boring mono document. It is amazing how removing small amount of friction inside a business can have such dramatic impact on results.
#9: Improved Employee Morale
People sometimes like to think of companies as giant, robotic machines that operate unemotionally.
In reality, companies are living and breathing organisms. Companies are a collection of people with different personalities, skills, desires, frustrations and personal problems. They all have one thing in common though: everyone hates when the printer breaks, forcing them to walk a country mile to the next device to retrieve their document.
Without these minor frustrations and annoyances affecting your employees morale, your business will at least be a more positive place to work. But morale goes far beyond that, as numerous studies are showing the positive correlation between morale and productivity in the work place.
#10: Fast, personalized service.
There are many locally owned managed print services providers across North America. For all of the smaller managed print service providers going toe to toe with industry giants such as Xerox, our ace in the hole is our unwavering commitment to serving our customers evolving needs.
We offer personalized service which is noticeably absent of call centers, automated responses, long hold times and other inconveniences. Our passion revolves around making life easier for you and your employees - and that means having all of our employees only one call away, ready to serve you.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed reading about the numerous benefits a Managed Print Services program can bring to your business.There are many fantastic providers available to companies across the globe and I encourage you to research the MPS providers based in your area.
If your business is located inside Atlantic Canada and you are considering starting a managed print services program or changing your existing provider, we at Datarite Limited would love the opportunity to earn your business.
Schedule a Free Consultation for your business TODAY... You have nothing to lose!
Contact Steven Croft at Datarite Limited anytime:
902-456-9380
30 Troop Avenue, Dartmouth NS, B3B 1Z1
