Does a Managed Print Service suit your organisation?
I have been lucky enough to be in the print services industry for over 5 years now, and it has given me the opportunity to speak with so many wonderful people, and to find some incredible mentors.
But as you are well aware, like every industry there are those people looking to ‘make a quick buck’ and leave the customer lost and unknown to where they stand with there contracts.
So, in this blog I’d like to highlight what a typical Managed Print Service (MPS) is and what you can do next time you’re In the market.
An MPS usually consists of a fixed fee per month, for ‘X amount’ of months (24,36,48 or 60 Months). This typically includes, the device and predetermined amount of printed pages a month.
In return, the service provider supplies and services the equipment, covering the toner, parts, labour and travel to keep the device in tip top condition.
We like to say its “similar to phone plan.”
If the user exceeds their ‘predetermined amount’, a standard cost per page (CPP) rate is typically applied to those excess prints.
MPS contracts DO work well if your business has a consistent print volume each month, which can make budgeting a whole lot easier.
The downside…
If your business isn’t meeting your monthly minimum printing volumes, at the end of the allotted contract term, you might be left with a payout figure for the copies you haven’t printed as stated in your agreed contract.
This is where we typically see a customer’s frustration
The cause? Miss communication, and lack of information presented to the client at the start of the term by sales staff. It is important when considering any future MPS contracts with your next provider that you quickly conduct some research on your businesses current printing volume and your needs. Buyer Guide to Copier Link. Here are some simple tips to work out your monthly volume.
- Don’t rush into making the decision, all Print Management Providers have access to software that can monitor your monthly volume, place this software on your network for a period of 1- 3 months to allow you to get a better understanding of your Mono & Colour Volume across your business.
- If your provider is unable to provide software to monitor your print environment, call me I can arrange it for you, 0439 807 879.
- Use previous invoices to average out your volume across the last 12 months.Hopefully this information can help your organisation with its next MPS photocopier upgrade, at any stage you would like a second opinion please do not hesitate to reach out to me (Harrison Savage) on social media (LinkedIn) or at harrison@gbmachines.com.au
Harrison Savage
Account Manager
As a family owned business since 1979, Gippsland Business Machines takes great pride in providing leading technology solutions for businesses throughout Gippsland. As business networks have changed and merged, our company has evolved from a simple “copier service” company, into a trusted technology partner.
GBM are a local Toshiba and Ricoh Dealer in Gippsland, specializing in Photocopiers, Printers and Production Print equipment throughout Gippsland. We also have knowledge in document workflow automation to help save time and money on invoice and document processes.
I love your tips about printing tips! My copier is broken and I don’t know what is happening. I’ll have to consider your tips so that I can keep my copiers online.