Managing your organization’s document workflow efficiently can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving. Despite the digital revolution, the average office worker still uses 10,000 sheets of paper annually, and printing costs typically consume 1-3% of a company’s annual revenue, with many businesses unaware of this significant expense. What if you could reduce these costs while simultaneously improving your document processes? That’s where Managed Print Services (MPS) comes in. As the Mid-Atlantic region’s trusted office technology partner, Impact Office Technologies provides comprehensive MPS solutions that deliver visibility, control, and optimization of your entire document ecosystem.
In this guide, we’ll explore how MPS can transform your business operations, from cost reduction to workflow enhancement and beyond.
Table of Contents
- Understanding Managed Print Services
- Key Benefits of Implementing MPS
- The MPS Implementation Process
- Integrating Document Management Solutions
- Print Cost Optimization Strategies
- Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding Managed Print Services
Managed Print Services is a comprehensive approach to managing your organization’s document output devices and processes. It goes far beyond simply maintaining printers or delivering toner. A proper MPS program provides complete visibility and control over your print environment, allowing for strategic optimization and continuous improvement.
The Core Components of MPS
An effective Managed Print Services program consists of several key elements working together:
Assessment and Analysis: The first step involves a thorough evaluation of your current print environment. This includes documenting all devices, analyzing usage patterns, identifying inefficiencies, and establishing a baseline for improvement. At Impact Office Technologies, our print assessment uses specialized tools to gather accurate data about your current print infrastructure, providing insights that guide optimization.
Fleet Optimization: Based on assessment findings, we design a print infrastructure that aligns with your actual needs. This often includes consolidating devices, standardizing equipment, and strategically placing multifunction printers to maximize efficiency while minimizing costs.
Proactive Management: Once optimized, your print fleet requires ongoing management. This includes automated supply fulfillment, preventive maintenance, and remote monitoring to predict and prevent issues before they impact your operations.
Continuous Improvement: The print landscape is constantly evolving. A quality MPS program includes regular reviews and adjustments to ensure your print environment continues to meet your changing business needs while incorporating new technologies and best practices.
User Support: Comprehensive training and support ensure your team can fully utilize available features and follow print policies that maintain efficiency.
Why Businesses Need MPS
Most organizations drastically underestimate their print-related expenses. Without proper management, printing becomes an invisible cost center that steadily drains resources. Common issues in unmanaged print environments include:
• Excessive device variety leading to higher supply costs and maintenance complications
• Outdated or underutilized equipment consumes space and resources
• Reactionary maintenance resulting in extended downtime
• Inconsistent user experiences reduce productivity
• Missing security features create potential data vulnerabilities
• Lack of print policies allowing wasteful practices to continue
MPS addresses these challenges by providing structure, visibility, and expert guidance to what is typically an overlooked aspect of business operations.
Key Benefits of Implementing MPS
Implementing a Managed Print Services program delivers substantial benefits across multiple aspects of your business operations. Here’s how MPS creates tangible value:
Cost Reduction and Control
The most immediate benefit of MPS is financial. Our clients typically see a 20-30% reduction in print-related expenses after implementation. These savings come from multiple sources:
Supply Management: Centralized purchasing eliminates redundant ordering and ensures you’re getting optimal pricing on consumables. Additionally, just-in-time delivery prevents stockpiling while ensuring supplies arrive before you run out.
Device Consolidation: By replacing multiple single-function devices with strategically placed multifunction printers, you reduce your overall hardware footprint, maintenance costs, and energy consumption.
Predictable Budgeting: With a clear cost-per-page model, print expenses become predictable rather than variable, making budgeting more accurate and consistent.
Enhanced Productivity
MPS significantly improves workflow efficiency and employee productivity:
Reduced Downtime: Proactive maintenance and remote monitoring mean potential issues are addressed before they cause disruptions. IOT’s 99.93% uptime achievement for Canon equipment exemplifies our commitment to keeping your systems operational.
Workflow Optimization: Strategic placement of multifunction devices and implementation of digital workflow tools streamlines document processes, reducing time spent handling physical documents.
User Experience: Standardized interfaces and capabilities across your fleet reduce training needs and user confusion, allowing employees to focus on their core responsibilities rather than wrestling with different printer interfaces.
Improved Security and Compliance
Print environments often represent overlooked security vulnerabilities:
Document Security: Features like secure print release prevent sensitive documents from sitting unattended in output trays, while user authentication ensures only authorized personnel can access certain functions or documents.
Network Protection: Modern printers are network devices with potential vulnerabilities. MPS includes security updates and configuration management to protect these entry points to your network.
Compliance Support: For organizations in regulated industries, MPS helps implement and document the controls necessary for compliance with requirements like HIPAA, GDPR, or industry-specific regulations.
Environmental Sustainability
MPS contributes to your organization’s sustainability goals:
Reduced Paper Usage: Implementation of print policies and duplex printing by default can cut paper consumption by 20% or more.
Lower Energy Consumption: Modern, Energy Star-certified devices use less power than older equipment, especially when properly configured with energy-saving settings.
Responsible Disposal: A comprehensive MPS program includes environmentally responsible disposal of obsolete equipment and recycling of consumables like toner cartridges.
The MPS Implementation Process
Successful implementation of Managed Print Services follows a structured approach that ensures your specific needs are addressed effectively.
Initial Assessment
The journey begins with a comprehensive assessment of your current print environment. Impact Office Technologies utilizes specialized tools to collect accurate data about your current print fleet, including:
Device Inventory: We document all print devices, their locations, capabilities, and condition. This creates a complete picture of your current infrastructure.
Usage Analysis: We analyze print volumes, patterns, and user behavior to understand your actual printing needs and identify opportunities for optimization.
Cost Analysis: We calculate your total cost of ownership (TCO) for printing, including often-overlooked factors like energy consumption, IT support time, and storage space for supplies.
Workflow Evaluation: We examine how documents move through your organization to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your current processes.
Solution Design
Based on assessment findings, we create a customized MPS solution designed specifically for your organization:
Fleet Optimization Plan: This includes recommendations for device consolidation, strategic placement, and standardization to improve efficiency while reducing costs.
Print Policy Development: We help establish guidelines for printing that promote responsible usage while meeting operational needs.
Workflow Improvements: We identify opportunities to digitize paper-heavy processes and implement solutions that streamline document handling.
Implementation Timeline: We create a phased approach to minimize disruption while systematically improving your print infrastructure.
Deployment and Training
Once the solution is designed and approved, we move to implementation:
Hardware Installation: New equipment is installed according to the optimized floor plan, with minimal disruption to your operations.
Software Configuration: Print management software, security features, and workflow tools are configured to your specifications.
User Training: We provide comprehensive training to ensure your team can take full advantage of new capabilities and follow established print policies.
IT Integration: We work with your IT team to ensure proper network integration and security compliance.
Ongoing Management and Optimization
MPS is not a one-time project but an ongoing program:
Proactive Monitoring: We continuously monitor your print fleet to identify and address potential issues before they impact your operations.
Automated Supply Fulfillment: Supplies are automatically shipped based on actual usage, ensuring you never run out while preventing excess inventory.
Regular Reviews: Quarterly business reviews provide opportunities to assess performance, discuss changing needs, and identify further optimization opportunities.
Continuous Improvement: As your business evolves, we adjust your print infrastructure to ensure ongoing alignment with your organizational goals.
Integrating Document Management Solutions
While optimizing your print infrastructure delivers significant benefits, the greatest value often comes from integrating document management solutions that help reduce dependency on paper altogether.
Digital Document Workflow
Modern multifunction printers serve as on-ramps and off-ramps to digital document workflows:
Scan-to-Digital: Convert paper documents into searchable digital files that can be stored, shared, and accessed from anywhere.
Automated Routing: Configure devices to automatically route scanned documents to appropriate destinations based on document type or content.
Cloud Integration: Direct integration with cloud storage platforms like Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, or specialized document management systems ensures scanned documents are immediately available in your digital ecosystem.
Document Management Systems
For organizations ready to take the next step in digital transformation, Impact Office Technologies offers comprehensive document management solutions that provide:
Centralized Document Repository: Create a single source of truth for all your important documents, with appropriate access controls and version tracking.
Intelligent Search: Find documents instantly based on content rather than just filenames or folder locations, thanks to OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology.
Workflow Automation: Establish digital approval processes, automatic notifications, and document routing to eliminate manual handoffs and reduce processing time.
Records Management: Ensure compliance with retention policies and provide audit trails for sensitive information.
Mobile and Remote Access
In today’s increasingly mobile and distributed work environment, access to documents from anywhere is essential:
Mobile Printing: Enable printing from smartphones and tablets, allowing team members to remain productive regardless of their location.
Remote Scanning: Capture documents into your digital workflows even when working remotely.
Secure Access: Ensure that mobile and remote document access maintains appropriate security controls and authentication requirements.
Real-World Benefits
The integration of document management with MPS delivers tangible operational improvements:
Faster Processes: Organizations typically see 30-50% reductions in document processing time after implementing digital workflows.
Enhanced Collaboration: Digital documents can be shared and edited simultaneously by team members regardless of location.
Disaster Recovery: Digital documents are protected by backup systems, eliminating the risk of catastrophic loss from fire, flood, or other physical disasters.
Space Savings: Reducing paper storage needs can free up valuable office space for more productive uses.
Print Cost Optimization Strategies
Beyond the initial implementation of MPS, there are ongoing strategies to further reduce costs and improve efficiency in your document environment.
Print Policy Implementation
Establishing and enforcing print policies can significantly reduce unnecessary printing:
Default Settings: Configure devices to print double-sided, in black and white, and at draft quality by default, with users able to override when necessary.
User Authentication: Require users to authenticate at the device before their print jobs are released, eliminating abandoned print jobs and creating accountability.
Department Chargebacks: Implement tracking and reporting that allows costs to be allocated to appropriate departments or cost centers, creating awareness and accountability.
Print Quotas: For educational institutions or organizations with significant personal printing, consider implementing print quotas to limit excessive usage.
Hardware and Supply Optimization
Ongoing equipment and supply management delivers continuous cost benefits:
Right-Sizing: Ensure each location has appropriate devices based on actual volume and feature requirements, avoiding both under-utilization and over-burdening.
Energy Management: Configure power management settings to minimize energy consumption during inactive periods.
Supply Yield Optimization: Use print management software to optimize toner usage and extend cartridge life without sacrificing quality.
Preventive Maintenance: Regular service prevents costly breakdowns and extends equipment lifespan.
Vendor Consolidation
Working with Impact Office Technologies as your single provider for office technology brings multiple advantages:
Simplified Management: One point of contact for all your technology needs reduces administrative burden.
Volume Discounts: Consolidating purchases can lead to better pricing on equipment, supplies, and services.
Consistent Support: A single service team familiar with your entire environment can provide faster, more effective support.
Strategic Planning: A holistic view of your technology infrastructure enables more effective long-term planning and budgeting.
Continuous Improvement Process
The most successful MPS implementations include a structured approach to ongoing optimization:
Regular Data Analysis: Continuous monitoring of usage patterns identifies changing needs and new optimization opportunities.
Quarterly Business Reviews: Scheduled reviews provide opportunities to discuss performance, address concerns, and plan future improvements.
Technology Refreshes: Planned updates ensure you benefit from new capabilities and efficiency improvements as technology evolves.
User Feedback Loops: Regular collection of user feedback helps identify pain points and improvement opportunities that might not be visible in the data alone.
Frequently Asked Questions About Managed Print Services
How quickly can we expect to see cost savings from MPS?
Most organizations begin seeing cost reductions within the first quarter after implementation. Initial savings typically come from supply consolidation and the elimination of redundant devices. More significant savings develop over time as workflow improvements and print policies take effect. A well-implemented MPS program generally delivers ROI within 12-18 months.
How disruptive is the transition to Managed Print Services?
Impact Office Technologies designs implementation plans specifically to minimize disruption. We typically use a phased approach, optimizing one department or location at a time. Most transitions can be completed during non-business hours, with comprehensive training provided to ensure users are comfortable with any changes. Our clients consistently report that the transition was smoother than anticipated.
What happens to our existing print equipment?
Our approach is to maximize the value of your existing investment whenever possible. During the assessment phase, we evaluate your current equipment for potential retention within the optimized fleet. Equipment that doesn’t fit the new strategy can often be redeployed to other areas, remarketed, or responsibly recycled. We’ll provide specific recommendations based on each device’s condition, capabilities, and remaining useful life.
How does MPS address security concerns?
Security is a core component of our Managed Print Services offering. Modern multifunction devices contain hard drives and are connected to your network, creating potential vulnerabilities if not properly managed. Our MPS program includes security assessments, implementation of appropriate authentication controls, hard drive encryption, secure print release functionality, and regular firmware updates to address emerging threats. We also provide documentation to support compliance requirements for regulated industries.
The Impact Office Technologies Difference
As a trusted technology partner serving the Mid-Atlantic region, Impact Office Technologies brings unique advantages to your Managed Print Services implementation:
Local Service Excellence: With multiple locations throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC, we provide responsive local service with technicians who understand your region and business environment.
Proven Performance: Our track record speaks for itself, with an impressive 99.93% uptime achievement for Canon equipment in 2019.
Risk-Free Guarantee: Our unique “Twelve Month Risk Elimination Program” allows you to return equipment and cancel remaining lease payments if you’re dissatisfied with our service.
Comprehensive Solutions: As part of The Supply Room Companies family, we offer additional services including office products and supplies, office furniture, breakroom support, and janitorial supplies, truly providing a one-source solution for all your office needs.
Vendor-Neutral Approach: While we’re proud of our Canon partnership, our primary commitment is to your success. We’ll recommend the best solutions for your specific needs, regardless of manufacturer.
Ready to Transform Your Document Workflow?
The journey to a more efficient, cost-effective print environment begins with a conversation. Impact Office Technologies offers complimentary print assessments to help you understand your current environment and identify opportunities for improvement, with no obligation.
Our expert consultants will work with you to develop a customized Managed Print Services strategy that addresses your specific challenges and aligns with your organizational goals.
Contact us today to schedule your free assessment and take the first step toward transforming your document workflows for greater business efficiency.
