The coronavirus pandemic, with its necessary social distancing measures, continues to impact our economy and particularly, small businesses. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce notes that approximately one in four small businesses has shut down, at least temporarily. 

Since most small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don’t typically have plenty of cash reserves, they are looking for ways to cut costs to stay solvent — and competitive.

There are, of course, many cost-cutting strategies that businesses can leverage to help them weather the economic storm caused by COVID-19, ranging from reevaluating supply chain operations and taking advantage of assistance programs to cutting unnecessary expenses — including printing costs.

Printing Costs — More Than Just Paper and Toner

When most people think of printing costs, images of reams of paper and stacks of ink and toner cartridges loom large. But printing costs comprise more than just equipment and supplies. You must also include the cost of troubleshooting and maintaining office equipment as well as numerous soft, or indirect, costs.

Indirect costs include the employee burden rate — that is, how much time IT personnel, administrators, or other employees must spend dealing with printer issues or calling a help desk or other technician for service.

Energy costs to run equipment, the cost of storing over-ordered supplies, and the time spent gathering those supplies all factor into your bottom-line costs for printing.

Using managed print services, SMBs now have a solid way to gain control over all these costs — both direct and indirect — to achieve increased cost savings and gains in productivity.

The Cost-Saving Magic Behind Managed Print Services

Managed print services (MPS) can help businesses get control of print costs and streamline processes for a competitive edge, part of the reason why the managed print market share is expanding rapidly.

 It all starts with an assessment of your business’ specific needs.

Once your managed services provider (MSP) understands your goals, they can create a managed print strategy that gives your staff the resources they need while cutting costs. 

Here are just a few of the tools a good MSP can deploy to help your company stay lean:

Optimizing the Print Environment

Through managed print, your company gains the advantage of full control over your print environment — limiting certain users to specific printers and even specific outputs, such as black and white, color, or wide-format.

With resource usage tracking, underutilized printers can be moved to departments where they are needed — or removed altogether to reduce energy consumption and free up space.

Keeping the latest technology on hand will also contribute to greater energy savings, as well as providing the most efficient output for increased productivity.

Robust Reporting for Transparency

One of managed print’s great secrets is its ability to provide a complete view of how your print resources are being used — and who is using them. 

Understanding workflows can help optimize processes and move your company toward a digital transformation. In 2020, 54% of companies agree that MPS helped them move toward a more efficient digital environment.

A more efficient environment saves costs and encourages productivity, both goals of a managed print strategy.

Done-for-You Support and Maintenance

No more burdening your IT staff with printer maintenance and support. Your MSP will ensure your print fleet is properly maintained, including security software and hardware updates. Troubleshooting and service calls are all included in an MPS agreement, so machine downtime is reduced — or even eliminated.

Finally, supply replenishment is automated so overstocked supply closets are freed up for more beneficial uses and your team will always have the right supplies on hand when they need them.

Count on James Imaging’s Managed Print Services to Optimize Your Print Environment

At James Imaging, we have a managed print services portfolio that can provide your company with every advantage an MPS strategy can offer.

From conserving storage space and managing energy usage to consolidating hardware and managing supplies, our services can help your company understand — and control — all your print costs.

Our team of print professionals will expertly assess your current print infrastructure in conjunction with your business needs and goals to develop a plan that will meet — or exceed — your requirements.

Discover the powerful advantage a managed print strategy can offer. Reach out to a professionalat James Imaging Systems and get started optimizing your print environment today.