So, you’re not loving the current state of your printing and are looking into managed print and copy services. There’s one issue, though- you need to know how much it’ll cost you and you can’t find pricing anywhere.
Your quest for pricing has landed you on our blog, which is great! We’re going to do our best here to answer your question, but keep in mind that we can’t give you an exact price point without a full understanding of your printing volume, building layouts, security needs and any special circumstances.
Keep in mind that whenever we broadly reference “printing” in this article, that term encompasses any function that puts ink on paper. This includes printing, copying, and in some cases, faxing.
The cost of this service will vary from client to client, so today we’ll give you some minimum dollar amounts, some expectations and how we calculate your rate.
For starters, we’re an IT company first, so most of our managed print clients are also managed or co-managed IT clients. We feel this service is at its best when the IT and print services come from the same company.
An IT contract with Innovative is priced based on the size and scope of your network, with a minimum of $1,000 per month. This minimum typically applies to small offices with around five users or fewer. A monthly maintenance contract for printers starts at a minimum of $20 for a small office with one device.
Again, we’ll reiterate that managed print services are only offered if you are also a managed or co-managed IT client with us. We do not offer managed print as a standalone service.
If you’re just looking for someone to manage your copiers and printers, we probably aren’t the right choice for you, and that’s okay. There are other great options out there that will be a better fit for your business, but keep in mind that your printers and copiers are network devices just like your computers and servers. The company that manages your network is likely best suited to also manage your print and copy devices.
The price you pay for managed print services will be a flat rate that we calculate through an overview of your printing processes and business goals. As you can imagine, this number varies from client to client because everyone is printing at different capacities, and everyone prints differently.
This makes Innovative different from most copier companies that charge a per-page fee, so your bill likely fluctuates each month. This sometimes makes it difficult to compare Innovative’s quote to your current contract.
Your rate can, in part, be calculated through data pulled from a print assessment. A complete print assessment accounts for all the factors of your printing:
Once the print assessment data is collected and the average monthly cost of each device is calculated, we’ll talk through your employee needs and business goals to build a print strategy that maximizes your investment and helps you achieve those goals.
This strategy can, and probably will look different for everyone. You need to consider any add-ons for print management and compliance solutions, like PaperCut and Secure Print, as well as any hardware that is purchased or leased.
Innovative is a Konica Minolta dealer, which means clients can buy or lease KM devices through us. Any bought or leased hardware will be an additional cost to your managed print contract, though there are typically cost savings found by replacing outdated or inefficient equipment.
As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to managed print. No two businesses will be the same, which is what makes it so difficult to give a straightforward number.
What we can tell you is that if you know for a fact your business is not printing efficiently, managed copy and print services will likely save you money in the long run.
The service exists not just to ensure devices are maintained and supported but also to execute a strategy that reflects a business’s goals and is efficient.