Managed Print Services (MPS) offer businesses a consistent and efficient solution to their document workflow.
When businesses utilize MPS, they outsource their printing needs to a third party, allowing them to focus on their core operations.
Medium to large-sized businesses with robust printing infrastructures can significantly benefit from MPS.
MPS clients have a full workload of operational tasks, and offloading print management gives them the flexibility to tackle them.
In print-reliant environments, clients cannot function without their MPS vendor. Using MPS gives client companies access to the latest printing technology, cost savings, and enhanced security.
However, managed print services are not a one-size-fits-all solution. And while MPS is vital to some clients, other businesses are not a good fit.
Print Partner is the preferred print vendor for hundreds of MSPs across the nation. When MSPs refer us to clients, we want to ensure those prospects fit our service suite well.
In this article, we will discuss why managed print services may not be a good fit for all your clients.
1. Your Client is Too Small to Benefit from MPS
Managed print services often cater to medium to large clients with high print volume.
Think schools, big law firms, hospitals - businesses that need help printing! To learn which industries need print most, read: 5 Industries that Use the Most Print
However, what if your client only has a small office with five employees? Do they need help servicing a single copier or a handful of desktop printers?
One of the main reasons managed print services may not be a good fit for a business is the company's size.
Yes, in the world of managed print services - size matters.
Small businesses with only a few employees do not require the same level of printing services as medium-sized or enterprise businesses. If the business is too small and does not print enough, it cannot take advantage of its managed print services suite.
A smaller company may find purchasing its own printers and supplies more cost-effective than investing in an MPS solution.
2. Your Client Can’t Afford MPS
For large, multi-site businesses, MPS is a no-brainer expense that pays for itself in the amount of time it saves that business.
However, managed print services are still expensive. And if your client is too small to take full advantage of the benefits of MPS, they likely cannot afford it.
Managed print requires countless hours of labor, network maintenance, a support call center, security, equipment delivery and replacement, and onsite support.
It is costly for the client and the provider, which is why MPS is geared toward servicing large clients. In fact, larger clients can actually be easier to support than their smaller counterparts.
Imagine a small client that relies on a single copier for their office. If that copier breaks down, the client will inevitably call their MPS provider frantically demanding a repair service, as their entire document workflow was dependent on one machine.
But if a large client’s copier goes down, they can simply send their users to one of the other four or five copiers in the office - a minor inconvenience, but not an emergency. If necessary, they can wait for a replacement part to be ordered.
On top of service costs, onboarded MPS clients will typically be required to purchase new copiers and printers and replace some or all of their existing equipment. This will add high fees on top of the already costly service.
For smaller companies that do not have the resources to invest in an MPS solution, it may not be a viable option. In these cases, clients may be better off investing in their printers and managing their printing needs in-house.
3. Your Client Won't Replace Their Outdated Print Equipment
Managed print services require up-to-date, fully-operational equipment. If your client’s print fleet isn’t up to snuff, most MPS providers will need them to replace their equipment.
Print vendors create these requirements for a few reasons.
First, providing managed print services to specific machines can be very expensive for vendors.
If your client’s copier is from 1999, you can bet that the print vendor will not have access to all of the parts it requires when things go wrong (and for old machines, things always go wrong!) At a certain point, much like an old beater car, the cost of servicing the copier is more than the value of the device itself.
Also, print vendors are not trained on every piece of old and obscure print equipment. Printing, faxing, and copying have changed dramatically over the years, and even devices from a few years ago may have unrecognizable parts to an MPS support team.
And finally, MPS vendors will require your client’s devices to be connected to their network.
Managed print vendors track and monitor your client’s devices via the Internet. If copiers aren’t tracked online, vendors can’t proactively monitor performance, provide toner replenishment, track usage, etc.
When your clients sign on with a new print vendor, they will inevitably have at least a few devices they need to replace - and sometimes, they must replace the entire fleet!
So if your clients are unwilling to learn new interfaces or spend money on brand-new equipment, MPS will not be a good fit for them.
Who Should Have Managed Print Services?
Managed print services can offer great value to your client with multi-locational, complex, robust print suites.
These are your mid to large-sized businesses that go through tons of paper - businesses that can benefit from a trusted third-party managing their print devices.
While every managed print services provider has their own specifics on what an ideal client looks like, here’s what Print Partner’s perfect client looks like:
- The prospect has 100+ office employees. A construction company with 99 field laborers and one accountant won’t qualify as a good opportunity.
- The prospect operates across multiple locations, and each site has a heavy print output.
- The prospect relies on at least four big A3 copiers with some smaller printers.
- The prospect prints a decent amount of color pages, or they print a TON of black and white pages.
- The prospect has complex faxing and printing needs and could benefit from solutions such as XMFax, PaperCut, PrinterLogic, Square 9, Umango, or similar solutions.
- The prospect has the potential to spend at least $500 per month on our service. They will likely surpass this minimum if they meet all of the above criteria. To learn more about how minimum requirements for prospects, read: 2023 Policy Change: $500 Minimum
Print Partner and Managed Print Services
If you have clients that fit our description of a good prospect, consider referring them to Print Partner!
Print Partner is the preferred MPS vendor for hundreds of MSPs nationwide - and for a good reason!
We are committed to delivering an exceptional managed print service experience for our MPS partners and clients. And we can do so with the award-winning service suite from our parent company, Green Office Partner.
When you work with Print Partner, we offer your MSP the following benefits:
Collaboration: We actively manage your clients’ print fleets and coordinate service with your team when needed.
Protection: Unlike many other print vendors, we don’t offer any of our own MSP-related services, and we never will. This means that we’ll never compete with you for business, and we’ll protect you from print vendors that would try to compete with you.
Additional Revenue: We’ll pay you for referrals! You’ll earn at least $250 per referral, plus $1,000 per copier sold and 5% on your client’s lifetime print allotment and revenue on future sales.
If you have clients that fit our mold, consider partnering with us, a Print Partner you can trust.
