What are Managed Print Services?
If you own or run a small business you will have undoubtedly heard about Managed Print Services (MPS) at some point, but do you know what it is, how it works, and what the benefits are?
In simple terms, MPS is where your entire print infrastructure is provided and proactively maintained, supported, and monitored on your behalf for a regular (usually monthly) set fee. This includes the printer hardware itself, the print software and licenses, the print infrastructure (including a web-to-print facility where applicable), and often includes the consumables such as ink/toner.
What are the Managed Print Services benefits?
Providing your own complete print solution can be a costly and complicated endeavour. There is the large initial capital cost of buying the print hardware and associated systems, but also the ongoing cost of maintaining it, buying the consumables, and keeping the software and licensing up to date - not to mention ensuring this is all provided in a timely manner to avoid any disruption to operations. This is where a small business managed print service can add real benefits.
MPS takes a different approach. Instead of a long-term commitment and investment where you purchase everything directly, an MPS typically includes more practical financing models, often with greater flexibility in terms of choice and options, and a full Product-as-a-Service offering if required.
There are also considerable cost savings that can be achieved as you can tailor the solution and associated costs to exactly what is required, with the ability to scale the solution to match your changing business needs. MPS removes the worry of printer/network maintenance and upgrades as these tasks are all performed on your behalf, and ink/toner is automatically supplied to ensure it is ready for use as soon as it’s required. Additionally, many providers offer an optional programme where old consumables are safely and properly removed and recycled wherever possible. If the printer or network has issues the MPS provider will ensure continuation of service for no additional fee, so there are no unexpected costs to deal with.
As a print expert, the MPS provider will find the best solution for your needs and price point. You will always have the right solution type and level to suit your business needs and the print solution will always be up to date, removing the worry of having to plan for (and finance) the considerable costs of upgrade yourself. On top of this, environmental considerations can be built into the solution to ensure you meet your sustainability obligations and can demonstrate this to your customers and partners as well.
Konica Minolta’s Managed Print Services offering
As a prominent expert and highly experienced IT services and print specialist, Konica Minolta is perfectly placed to be your Managed Print Services provider of choice. This was underlined by Konica Minolta being named a ‘Leader’ in Managed Print Services, by the industry analyst, Quocirca in its ‘Managed Print Services, 2022’ report.
Konica Minolta’s MPS concept is Optimized Print Services (OPS). It ensures that our customers have precisely the right solution for their requirements, not just the latest and most spectacular technology for the sake of it.
The OPS offering combines consulting, hardware, software implementation and workflow management to lower document spend. We help your company increase the efficiency of all its print and scan related processes, whilst a strategy of preventative and predictive maintenance ensures the devices you use are always performing reliably and any downtime is minimised.
Konica Minolta provides an individual solution for your requirements which ensures maximum data security whilst meeting your budget. We aim to liberate you, your employees, and your IT support team from the challenges of managing your own print infrastructure, enabling your organisation to concentrate fully on your core tasks. We take care of your entire print and scan infrastructure, including routine tasks such as consumables management (via automated ordering). In addition, if you choose our Clean Planet Program, we will collect and dispose of the consumables in accordance with WEEE regulations (you can learn more details on how that works in your country HERE).
Your next step – cloud print
You may already be thinking of opting for MPS (or indeed already using it), but did you know that there are many good reasons to have your print infrastructure managed by your provider in the cloud instead of on premise?
Printed documents are still very important. From keeping essential legal and financial records in physical form, to sending personal printed notes with a customer order, or the government sending out critical documentation to citizens, to printing out relevant data for each attendee of an important meeting. Therefore, it's important to ensure your print is economical, fully secure, and flexible enough to deal with the unexpected. This is where a cloud-based approach really makes a difference.
Whilst cloud-based IT systems have become essential to the workplace, many businesses are missing the essential cloud print element. By enabling your team to print anything, from anywhere, on any device, cloud print ensures that your print function keeps up with the rest of your agile and flexible workplace IT systems.
Integration of environmental aspects
As part of the OPS offer, you can opt for an environmental audit of your printer fleet. This is carried out using the bizWORKPLACE total cost of ownership (TCO) assessment tool. It determines, for example, the energy consumption of your printers so that you can consider replacing them with more energy-efficient devices. You can also determine the consumption of your consumables, such as paper and ink/toner, to maximise their use, thereby reducing waste. bizWORKPLACE can also be used to provide periodic environmental reporting to ensure optimised performance over time.
Other services that can be provided as part of the OPS offering include the introduction of a rules-based-printing solution to ensure that resource-saving print settings are applied by default (e.g., double-sided printing, black and white printing, low-resolution printing for certain categories of print, etc.), helping to reduce both toner and paper consumption.
Secure print release or Follow-Me-Printing can also be included as part of an OPS offering. Here, print jobs are only executed after authentication at the print device, thus eliminating the production of unwanted print jobs.
Energy saving options available on Konica Minolta’s print devices include reducing the time it takes to enter Low Power or Sleep Mode (ensuring printers power down more quickly after each use), ensuring the Fax/Scan Mode is powered down when not being used, using the timer and calendar feature to ensure devices only power up during working hours/days, and the Konica Minolta Dynamic Eco Timer which intelligently learns your business routines and adapts the settings accordingly. Additionally, Eco Print ensures that the control panel isn’t automatically activated when a print job arrives during Sleep Mode. The built-in Eco Meter visualises the contribution being made to the environment (including toner and paper usage) therefore helping to create and maintain environmental awareness amongst users.
An essential service
Managed (or Optimized) Print Services and cloud print have become vital in the age of Hybrid Working. The print provision must be just as flexible as the rest of the business to cope with the evolving workplace and to meet the challenges ahead.
MPS provides a highly flexible and cost-effective solution which enables businesses to concentrate on their core activities with full peace of mind that the print provision will continue to be fully met. Konica Minolta’s fully Optimized Print Services offering takes this a step further, ensuring that your print solution always delivers maximum efficiency and value for money, providing the best possible solution for the workplace of today and tomorrow, all at an affordable and predictable cost.