It's inevitable: if you run a small or mid-sized business, you will use printers at one point or another. In fact, studies show that the average SMB worker prints 8,000 A4 pages every year, which translates to around 33 pages per day. Multiply that by the number of employees you have and you’ll have an idea of how overworked your office printers might be.
Related article: How to protect your business printers from hackers
Because of heavy printing loads, managing and maintaining your print devices can become a substantial workload on its own. According to Xerox, as much as 50% of all help desk requests that companies make is printer-related. This volume of printer-related help requests can easily overwhelm any SMB’s IT team, which is why many companies partner with a printer solutions provider for printer support, management, and maintenance.
But what exactly can a printer solutions provider do for your SMB? Read on to find out.
Services you should expect from a printer solutions provider
Printer solutions offerings may vary according to the provider or the client's location. However, the following standard solutions should be available through any reputable managed printer service:
Rapid on-site response
All printer solutions providers promise quick response times. At USWired, for instance, we guarantee a two-hour response time for businesses in San Jose and the Bay Area. Our responders are certified technicians, and we include a six-month warranty on labor and parts.
On-site response time should be the first detail you look for when canvassing for a local managed printer provider, as many printer issues are difficult to diagnose and/or resolve remotely. Furthermore, quick response times ensure that you experience shorter downtime. This is also the main reason why partnering with a local provider is best. Large printer brands may offer printer solutions themselves, but because of their scale of operations, their response times tend to be much slower than that of a local company.
New and used printer sales assistance
It’s a good idea to seek advice from an expert to determine which printer is best for your budget and needs. Not all printers are the same, even more so once you factor in maintenance, repairs, and parts. For companies with heavy printing requirements, it may even make more sense to acquire a used or refurbished industrial printer, as these can be cheaper to buy and run than a brand-new smaller-scale printer.
Look for a printer solutions provider that can offer printer options at various price points and models. It’s a bad sign if your prospective provider can offer you only one or two printer models, as this can mean that they have limited knowledge and experience on printers.
Printer inspection
With daily use, printers are bound to experience breakdowns and other problems. However, in SMBs that only have a small in-house IT team, these printer-related concerns are often overlooked in favor of more important issues. Therefore, it’s beneficial for small companies if their printer services provider can also commit to regular, scheduled on-site visits to check on your print devices.
Best prices for toner cartridges
There are many available cartridge options for your printers. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cartridges are toner cartridges manufactured using similar raw materials, identical manufacturing processes, and in the same factories as brand-name cartridges. The only differences are that they come in cheaper packaging and are branded as generic cartridges. Meanwhile, remanufactured cartridges are recycled toner cartridges that are cleaned, repaired, and reconditioned to meet the same quality standards as brand new cartridges.
A well-connected managed printer solutions provider should be able to offer you a range of toner cartridge options for your printers. Ultimately, what you choose will depend on your needs and budget; for instance, branded printer toner cartridges are nice to have but they are expensive to use for the long term. OEM and remanufactured cartridges can be just as reliable, but it’s important to source them from a trusted supplier.
Service contract and managed print services
You want to work with a provider that can make a solid commitment to your company in writing. This contract ensures that the provider will meet certain standards so that you get maximum value out of your investment. For example, you can forge either an annual or a multi-year contract with USWired, and the contract will outline specific deliverables such as monitoring and maintenance of print devices and supply replenishment schedules.
Get managed printer solutions from one of the most trusted providers in the industry. Send us an email at [email protected] or call us toll-free at 1-877-USWIRED (1-877-879-4733).
