Managed Print Services vs. Traditional Printing: Which Printing Method Is Right for Your Business?
Maintaining an efficient fleet of printing devices requires time, money, and effort, which can be taxing on businesses. Unfortunately, many companies can’t keep up with printer requirements, leading to breakdowns, reduced print quality, and costly repairs. Managed print services relieve the pressures of maintaining printing devices, saving your business time and money.
Read on to learn more about managed print services and whether it’s the superior printing method. This article covers the following topics:
- The difference between traditional and managed printing methods
- Why use managed print services?
- The benefits of managed print services over traditional printing
- Which printing method best suits your business needs?
- How Superior Office Solutions can help
Traditional vs. Managed Printing Methods: What’s the Difference?
Traditional printing requires businesses to maintain printing devices on their own, which includes ordering copier paper and ink, hiring repair services, resolving unknown issues, updating their hardware when the time is right, and handling any other equipment issues that occur.
On the other hand, managed print services (MPS) consist of external providers that maintain and optimize a business’s printing, scanning, and faxing requirements throughout multiple departments and offices. Managed print services monitor equipment, provide repairs, update printing devices, troubleshoot issues to offer solutions, and restock ink, toner, and paper.
The main difference between traditional printing methods and managed print services is that the former requires additional effort on your part, while MPS keep equipment operational for you.
Why Use Managed Print Services?
While there is nothing wrong with using traditional printing methods, you may find that managing your company’s printing environment on top of other daily tasks can quickly become overwhelming, especially with multiple printing devices scattered throughout an office. Busy businesses may not have time to focus on their print management. Without a way to do so, they are liable to experience production delays, breakdowns, outdated equipment, and printing errors that cost time and money.
Additionally, managing printers on your own means you have a variety of brands that all require different cartridges, which take up storage space. Then when the time comes to replace a printer, you have expensive, incompatible cartridges that end up getting thrown out because they aren’t compatible with your new device.
By using a managed print service, businesses can hand the responsibilities of maintaining their printing devices over to a trusted and experienced professional, allowing them to redirect their attention to what matters most: running their business.
The Benefits of Managed Print Services Over Traditional Printing
While each printing method has advantages and disadvantages, managed print services tend to offer more to offer businesses overall. Here are some of the most notable benefits of partnering with a managed print service.
Cost Savings
Paying for an additional service may initially appear counterproductive to saving your business money, but when you account for the cost of wasted materials and downtime caused by inferior printing management, hiring a managed print service pays for itself. MPS optimize your printing process by ensuring your devices are all up to date and operate efficiently, along with ordering the correct amount of supplies like ink, toner, and paper. Reducing wasted materials and downtime while minimizing unnecessary repairs contributes to cost savings over an extended period.
Improved Security
Managed print services improve security measures by implementing built-in security protocols, which restrict access to certain devices. Additionally, MPS may encrypt specific data to give your information extra protection. Securing your printer prevents sensitive documents from being exposed to unwanted individuals.
Increased Productivity
Having a dedicated provider to manage your printer fleet gives employees more time to focus on their essential tasks and increases general productivity. Updated printing devices also run more efficiently and can produce documents at an accelerated rate than old, outdated equipment. Plus, constant monitoring of printing equipment detects issues early and allows maintenance to resolve the problems before breakdowns occur, maximizing operating times.
Regular Maintenance
Most office printers don’t receive maintenance attention until there’s a problem, but managed print services regularly monitor and assess the condition of your printing equipment. With constant monitoring, printers are less likely to experience lengthy malfunctions and minor issues can be fixed as soon as they become apparent. Instead of paying and waiting for repairs, repairs are included in MPS.
Environmentally Friendly
Managed print services aren’t just beneficial for your business—they also help the environment by reducing wasted materials. Large amounts of ink and toner cartridges, plus paper and the packages they come in, require significant energy and resources to produce, negatively impacting the environment. MPS evaluate your printing needs and ensure you aren’t wasting money on unnecessary materials, minimizing the waste in landfills and reducing your carbon footprint.
Remote Printing
Using a managed service program grants remote printing capabilities. Using almost any device that connects to the internet—such as desktops, laptops, smartphones, or tablets—you can print documents while away from the office. Remote printing is especially advantageous when someone at the office requires a copy and you aren’t in the building.
Having your sensitive documents fall into the wrong hands can be devastating for businesses. That’s why managed print services offer tight security measures to protect your information. Learn more about high-security print solutions with Superior Office Solutions.
Which Printing Method Is Right for Your Business?
Ultimately, whether or not to utilize a managed print service depends on each company’s size and unique requirements. Still, if having your printing fleet managed by a professional sounds appealing, consider investing in managed print solutions.
Whichever printing method you believe is best for your business, you’re going to need a trusted office equipment provider like Superior Office Solutions.
Simplify Your Printing Methods With Superior Office Solutions
At Superior Office Solutions, we create a customized managed print solution tailored to your business needs. With over twenty years of industry experience, our goal is to provide clients across the state of New York with print services that improve productivity and simplify their work processes. Our experts can determine the perfect printing method for your business and implement it to create the ideal printing environment.
Using the managed print services program offered by SOS takes the hassle out of maintaining your business printers. You’ll gain access to:
- Heightened security
- Managed printing solutions
- Mobile printing accessibility
- Document management
- And more
We also offer top-of-the-line printing equipment, including production printers, office copiers, wide-format printers, and other refurbished machines of various brands. Not sure you want to commit to a specific piece of printing equipment? No problem—we have flexible equipment leasing options available.
Ready to upgrade your office printing? Contact Superior Office Solutions today and leave the rest to us.