Reduce Costs and Increase Efficiency with Managed Printing Services

Printing and documentation costs can get out of hand if you are not monitoring them closely. Sometimes maintaining an office budget is about maintaining the essential support operations in an efficient manner. This is why many businesses are adopting a smart approach to their documents management.

Streamlining an Essential Operation

With a good document management system, your files and data are maintained in a centralized environment so access is easy and quick. There is a reduced dependency on individual communication and you do not have to flail your hands in despair because you cannot find a document because the person in charge is on leave.

What are Managed Print Services?

The top print providers in the world are continuously evolving with their customers, from large corporates to small businesses. Managed print services make up an integrated approach offered by print providers to manage how you use your various document-related devices. These would include printers, copiers, fax machines and scanners. The aim of managed print services providers is to optimize the usage of your devices and reduce wastage of paper and electricity, which in turns adds to the overall savings on your operational costs.

Take Out Your Local Devices

More businesses are adopting network printers compared to local ones, the latter considered archaic and wasteful. Local printers are connected to individual computers via a cable and these can only be used through that one machine. Network printers are connected to a larger framework of computers, hence shared and accessible to multiple users. Network printers can be wired or wireless. For larger organizations, network printers make more sense as you use one machine for the requirements of many. Shifting to a network printer scheme is the first step of managed print services.

Strategic Printer Placements

The placement of your devices also makes a big difference in the larger set-up. Managed printing services include determining where the printers should be placed, so there is easy access for all the target employees. Remember that the more time you employees spend in getting to and from the printer, the less time they spend working at their desks. This is one of the best demonstrations of how managed printing services can add to overall productivity.

Manage your Inventory

We are all familiar with that situation where the printer inventory runs out of paper or a cartridge needs to be replaced. Too often, these scenarios happen when the need for the printer is at the highest. Managed printing services include monitoring of the supplies in an automated manner. The concerned authority (IT department) will get alerts when it is time to change the toner or add more supplies.

Smooth Maintenance

With a managed print services provider you will enjoy continuous monitoring of all your document-related devices. Over a period of time, you will accumulate enough data to be able to make predictions about your print budget. Another important part of managing your printing resources is consolidating the different types of technologies and compatibilities into one streamlined set of devices. This is another move that will reduce maintenance time and costs.

Gain Flexibility

With managed printing services you will have options like remote printing. That enables employees to access the printers from a device when they are away from home. This adds a lot of flexibility to your schedule as an individual does not need to be close to the printer to get a job done.

Managed Printing Services for Security and Sustainability

Managed printing services add a very important security layer to your documentation process. Printing tasks can be tracked and access can be limited according to the requirements of the business. Another very important benefit of managed printing services is that you reduce the wastage of paper, reducing your company’s environmental impact.

Audit Before You Decide

The best part about managed printing services is that they can be customised to suit your business requirements. These services can also include a bit of training so employees can enjoy a seamless shift from your older printing systems. Some hacks are easy to remember. 2-sided and black and white printing will save your company thousands of pounds in the long run.

Before you adopt or integrate managed print services into your office it is advisable to run print audits and understand your existing costs, capacities and requirements. Not too many companies keep an eye on the granular details of printing. With a print audit, you will get a clear and transparent analysis of your costs and print resources management, down to the finest details. You will get a breakdown of the different aspects of printing like copying, printing, scanning and faxing.