Does this sound familiar?

An important meeting begins in five minutes and everyone planning to attend is furiously trying to print out the meeting agenda to bring with them. Too many of them are doing this though and it jams up the printer. Now, everyone is entering this valuable meeting without an agenda and a bit of frustration.

Though it may seem like a small annoyance, if malfunctioning document output machines is a common occurrence in an office, it can lower employee morale, reduce productivity and decrease revenue.

The modern-day office is fast-moving and unpredictable. Because it moves so quickly, business tools and resources must always remain fully operational so that business can continue unhindered.

This is where Managed Print Services come into play.

What Is It?

Managed Print Services is an outside entity that helps a company handle all aspects of document output – copying, printing, maintenance, repairs, toner, etc.

A Managed Print Service company typically begins its service with an assessment. This is where an audit of sorts is conducted on all of the company’s current printers, scanners, fax machines and any other document output machines to determine where repairs/changes are needed. Things will be evaluated such as if you have monthly spikes in printing, how much color ink v. black ink you use and how many documents are being printed/scanned within a specific timeframe.

Essentially, this is to make sure that the right equipment is in place to meet the demands of your business.

Based on this assessment, recommendations will be brought to the client that should help increase overall business productivity. This may include consolidating machines into one or simply replacing outdated printers, which will save on space and long-term costs.

After any necessary changes are made, the Managed Print Services company will be in charge of ongoing oversight of all of the document output machines in the office. This includes monitoring progress and collecting data to make sure things are running smoothly, as well as taking care of any necessary repairs.

What Are the Benefits?

The frustration of dealing with printers that don’t always work correctly is something anyone who has spent time working in an office can tell you about. They jam, don’t communicate with computers correctly or just simply stop working. By utilizing a Managed Print Services company, someone is always working to make sure these headaches don’t happen. As a result, staff time isn’t wasted and neither is money. There are no unexpected costs that need to go toward repairs, and your internal IT team can spend their time focusing on larger tasks or troubleshooting needs.

In addition, the Managed Print Service assessment of your business will uncover which machines are the most wasteful in terms of paper and eliminate that problem, which will reduce printing costs. Using more high-quality machines, ink and toner will also cut down on costs. Printers can even be relocated to more productive areas of the office to save on costs.

Using a Managed Print Service company also helps reduce paper waste to help your business become more environmentally friendly.

Your staff also will simply be happier not having to struggle with malfunctioning printers and copy machines. Not to mention not knowing who to contact when those problems happen.

Cost of Ownership

Owning a business can be exciting, but also comes with a lot of costs. There is office space, utilities, administrative costs, insurance, credit fees and more. Your payroll for a valuable team is another big part of it. You should be able to let them handle day-to-day pieces of the business without having to worry about things like jammed document machines. By using a Managed Print Services company, your printing costs will suddenly be predictable and you will also get results from the following:

– More valuable equipment maintenance

– High level of equipment

– Decrease in wasted paper

– Less printers

– Recycling cost savings

– Less employee time wasted

– IT time saved

Lastly, your managed print services company should deliver a high level of customer service. Your interaction with any print services company should be easy and not take away from productivity.

Ease of program is only accomplished by the most reputable and experienced providers.

If you are looking for a managed print services company that offers all of the above and more, look no further than LCI Office Solutions!