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We live in a digital world where information is easily assessable, virtually at our fingertips. Instead of fulfilling the late 20th-century forecast that offices would all go paperless – printed documentation is still a preferred way to do business. In many cases, it is a legal requirement.

The printer can help the digital office space be more productive, improve quality control, and enhance customer satisfaction. So, why do companies allow their printer assets to go unmanaged? The printer is a workhorse piece of office equipment, and like any other heavily used office asset, these machines require regular maintenance, repair, updates, and replacement with new technology.

Managed Print Services streamlines the process of managing, maintaining, repairing, and replacing printer equipment, printer cartridges, and printer ink or toner. When your print assets are well managed, companies can monitor, control, and reduce their costs related to printing.

The first step in choosing the right Managed Print Service solution is to have an assessment that will identify your current print infrastructure while also looking at the overhead costs these assets require for maintenance.

What Is a Managed Print Services Assessment?

A Managed Print Services assessment is the starting point that identifies many challenges that a company may have with keeping their printer equipment and printer supplies well managed. Also, the goal is to weed out waste and inefficient workflows for document-heavy organizations and businesses such as legal firms, educational institutions, finance, medical, engineering, and accounting companies.

Like a feasibility study, an assessment takes an objective and rational look at how a company uses its printer assets. For example, they will assess the main reasons for printing- corporate documentation, customer printed mailings, training manuals, catalogs, advertising brochures, or a combination of all.

Next, an assessment looks at the volume of printed material needed each week. Not only will a Managed Print Services assessment look at how much printing your company does, but they will also look at which printers are used, the type of printers, and the associated costs of their print jobs. This will include the printer, paper, ink, and even the time it takes to print.

Finally, after the costs are broken down as in-house print overhead, specific solutions can be planned to improve office productivity and workflow efficiency. Different types of offices will have various print-related factors and procedures to consider. No one solution will fit every size of business or every business sector.

The objective of your Managed Print Service assessment is not only to highlight and improve printer inefficiencies. It also focuses on reducing the cost of printing, managing, and maintaining these critical office assets.

What Are the Benefits of A Managed Print Services Assessment?

The benefits for your company include:

Obtain your print device inventory

Smaller companies may quickly know the number of their print devices and their relative condition. But many medium- to large-sized companies may have a desktop printer on every desk, or at least in every division. Then there are the larger, more expensive, and more capable multi-function printers that serve an entire department.

Discover the cost to print in-house

The cost-per-sheet to print at a local print shop is advertised. But do companies know how much it costs to print in-house? It should be considerably less than outsourced printing. Knowing how much you pay to print materials gives you the financial vision to justify a Management Print Services provider that can possibly save your company money on each print job.

Learn who and how printers are being used

This includes how much printing may be wasted by copying, using color ink instead of black and white, ignoring double-sided printing, or simply printing nonwork-related materials by employees. An assessment will uncover all these details and more!

Know if your printers are a security risk

That’s right! Cybercriminals often target printer settings to do their dirty work because these machines can offer an open door into your computer network – an easy way to view sensitive financial documents. Printers store information, along with employee logins and passwords. This may be all a hacker needs to access corporate data. For this reason, assessing your printer system’s vulnerability can be a value that can’t be counted in dollars and cents.

What Happens After Your Assessment

These business office equipment experts will analyze the data and create an in-depth report on current usage, costs, and inefficiencies. The information may include how much paper is being wasted and the environmental impact, how much is spent on printing and print equipment maintenance, and a detailed inventory of your office printing assets.

You receive valuable input on what your company can be doing differently:

• Workflows (different printers that do more)
• Employee responsibility (printer setups that require less human interaction)
• Equipment replacements (newer printers can be cost and time savers)
• Better ways to keep your printer supplies fully stocked (inventory management)

Along with input from your staff, a proposal will be provided that details how Managed Print Services will benefit your entire office and your bottom line. The goal is to optimize your print environment to help your employees, customers, and profits.

If your Houston business has no idea what your printer assets and workflows really look like, then consider Managed Print Services as an option to streamline and optimize your office operations. Contact Stargel Office Solutions today to speak with one of our experts about how a Managed Print Services assessment can make all the difference in overcoming inefficient and ineffective office printing procedures.