MANAGED PRINT FAQs

How will this program impact my customer's IT department?

IT departments embrace this program for several reasons. First, it dramatically reduces the amount of print related issues that an IT department needs to respond to. Print issues typically fall under a low severity level and most IT department staff members would rather not have to deal with print issues. It's not core to their business and is therefore not a good utilization of their resources. Lastly, while this program will streamline all aspects of IT print issue involvement, it will also assist an IT department to properly identify over and under utilization of print devices. This will assist them in the proper management and deployment of corporate print assets in the future.

How can a Managed Print Program reduce an IT department's budget?

More times than not, IT departments have had to absorb the costs associated with all connected devices to the network. Many times, this is because a company does not have a method to easily identify and allocate print costs. That's exactly what we do. We summarize billing by departments and/or cost centers and make individual groups responsible and accountable for their own operating print expenses. Consequently, an IT department no longer needs to carry the print costs of other departments thereby reducing their overall budget.

How does Managed Print Program help to identify print usage and allocate print costs?

Since we are counting actual pages being printed to each print device, we can accurately and appropriately allocate all print costs back to the department and/or cost center that generated the print. This reduces print costs simply by the fact that people are now conscious of the consequences of their sometimes excessive printing behavior.

How can a Managed Print Program reduce my inventory carrying costs?

Most companies will maintain a stock room of toner or will keep spare cartridges near each printer. The larger the print environment, the larger a company's inventory carrying costs. This inventory never goes away until the printer does. At that point, the remaining toner becomes obsolete and subsequently a financial loss due to the excess toner inventory. This is a poor utilization of corporate funds and adds to a company's CPC (Cost-per-Copy) calculation. Under DOCUWISE's CPC program, customer inventory needs are significantly reduced, if not eliminated altogether. DOCUWISE manages and will maintain any level of on-site emergency inventory required by the customer.

How does a Managed Print Program increase end-user productivity?

At the start of a Managed Print Program, all equipment is brought up to OEM specifications. Any issues are identified and resolved and with each cartridge change out, both the toner cartridge and the print device is inspected to ensure that print quality is at peak performance. Finally, semi-annual preventative maintenance services are performed to ensure both the quality of the print and the longevity of the print device.

Are there more effective methods of managing print environments?

Remote monitoring of print environments is the next generation of proactive Print Management. Deploying a remote monitoring solution that will not breach the security concerns of an IT department is the issue. Designing a solution that would not require the loading of software on a customer's server would be the most non-invasive solution. DOCUWISE utilizes a proprietary remote management solution for networked and local print devices that allows you to conveniently and effortlessly track and monitor the data most needed to manage your print environment. Powered by PESO™ (Print Environment System Organizer) our personalized web portal, that allows you to manage your customer's entire account online, including ordering products and services, shipment tracking, accounting and returning cores. The web based print management application proactively manages all operational needs of a print device, inclusive of low toner alerts, fuser issues, paper jams, etc. You can even monitor your print environment from your mobile device or smartphone.

Does a Managed Print Program become more costly or cost effective over time?

Actually, Managed Print Programs become more cost effective over time. If you think about the dynamics for a moment you discover some overwhelming support for this. First, CPC rates are determined and budgeted, based on historical data. DOCUWISE's Managed Print Program is designed, not to replace aging devices, but to keep them running for as long as possible. Like a used car, as print devices age, repair costs go up. They rise to a level where it is deemed more cost effective to replace a device as opposed to repairing it. You replace a device with a new one in hopes of ending the escalating repair costs associated with the replaced device. But isn't that a cost of repairs in itself an expense that is now capitalized as a depreciable asset? And doesn't that new device begin to age and require more and more repairs over time? These repairs could begin early in the life of the new print device. That's the beauty of DOCUWISE's program. It locks in a CPC rate based on historical data. From that point on, DOCUWISE becomes responsible for maintaining the operational performance and readiness of all covered equipment. Print costs for the first time become fixed and easily budgetable.

How does Managed Print Programs help to reduce transaction costs?

Each time a cartridge is requested, a service call or a repair order is needed a series of events take place.

the user requisitions from purchasing
purchasing writes up an order
the order is approved by management
the order is sent off to the vendor
the vendor sends a bill to accounting
accounting verifies the bill
the user or purchaser approves the bill
a check is written
checks are signed
checks are mailed

Every time a call is necessary, these events take place. That takes time, from clerical to management, from computer to paper, as well as numerous hours of downtime. Transaction costs have been documented as low as $50 and as high as $175 per transaction. With DOCUWISE, transaction costs and its associated paper trail are virtually eliminated. We submit one invoice per month which summarizes all pages printed by print device, department and/or cost center. For this reason, accounting departments embrace the operational efficiency of this program.

What are the benefits of preventative maintenance?

An aggressive preventative maintenance program, as provided through a DOCUWISE program, creates less end-user downtime, reduces IT interaction for print issues, creates greater print quality and extends a print device's life. Our goal is to create less end-user downtime, to reduce IT interaction for print issues, create greater print quality and to extend printer life.

What should I expect from an effective Managed Print Program?

On the surface, a Managed Print Program would appear to consist of replacing toner cartridges and repairing broken print devices. In fact, that only scratches the surface of an effective print management program. A true Managed Print Program breaks down and addresses every aspect of print costs. It assists the overall operational efficiency of each aspect of these costs. A DOCUWISE program includes everything from:

elimination of inventory carrying costs to an outsourced Help Desk approach
to assisting an IT department in effectively managing its print device population
to the increased efficiency afforded the end-user due to increased print device uptime
to the proactive preventative maintenance associated with reducing current print repair costs and ultimately, extending the useful life of a company's print device assets.

An effective Managed Print Program gives a company the tools it needs to properly balance its print environment and meet its print needs, as a whole. If properly deployed, an effective Managed Print Program can save a company more money in reducing operational overhead, increasing efficiencies, as well as, identifying abuses of printing within an company. By billing print costs back to each cost center or department that generated the printing, a company gains control and accountability over all aspects of print expenditures.

Is replacing aging print devices just as cost effective as repairing them?

While it is true that every print device will eventually reach the end of its useful life, a proper Managed Print Program is designed around an effective and comprehensive preventative maintenance schedule. This will ensure the lowest cost of ownership for an organization. New print devices experience paper jams and need new parts on a regular basis. This is all a function of the number of pages running through a print device, not just the age of the device. None of this is covered under a manufacturer's warranty. Additionally, the most costly and continuous repairs are the replacement of fuser units and maintenance kits. Both of these items are considered to be "normal wear and tear" items and are, therefore, not covered by the warranty.

Will the increase in color print devices effect print costs within an organization?

Absolutely! This is the single largest area of print cost exposure for a company. Consider that toner costs alone are five times more expensive when producing a color printed page. This statistic is based on pages printed with a 5% page coverage (percentage of a 8.5” x 11” page actually covered by ink). Now consider the average page coverage of a black and white document is typically 17% and the typical page coverage for a color document is 20-25%. As more color printers are added to a company’s network, the associated escalation print costs will be sure to follow. Assisting companies in identifying and controlling these costs is one of our primary focuses.

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