Let’s face it—printing probably isn’t the first thing on your mind when you walk into the office. But if you’ve ever had a team member miss a deadline because the printer jammed, or you’ve seen boxes of paper fly out the door without any clue who’s printing what, you know the impact can add up. Slowly, quietly, printing chaos can creep in.
And when it does? It’s more than a tech issue. It’s a drain—on time, money, and often, patience.
Managed Print Services (or MPS, if you’ve heard the term floating around) is one of those behind-the-scenes upgrades that can genuinely change how smoothly your office runs. It’s not flashy, but it is effective. This article isn’t just a tech pitch. It’s a breakdown of why print management matters, what it can do for you, and how it can turn everyday frustrations into seamless, automatic processes.
The Real Cost of Unmanaged Printing
At a glance, printing looks cheap. A few pence for paper. A bit of toner. But over time? Those tiny costs snowball.
We’ve seen offices where no one knows how much is being printed. Colour prints where black and white would do. Half-printed presentations abandoned and reprinted. And let’s not forget the hours IT teams spend fiddling with printer errors.
What’s really being lost isn’t just money—it’s visibility. Without oversight, you don’t know who’s printing what, how often, or whether it’s even necessary. That makes it impossible to budget accurately, or to spot waste until it’s already happened.
There’s a better way. Managed print brings those details into focus. We once worked with a company that had over 40 employees. No one had thought much about printing before. But after a quick audit, they realised they could save thousands per year just by adjusting default settings and introducing simple usage caps.
Centralised Control Changes Everything
Imagine this: You log into a dashboard and immediately see how many pages were printed this week, which departments used the most ink, and which printer is running low. That’s centralised print management.
It’s not about micromanaging. It’s about knowing enough to make smarter decisions.
Want to restrict colour printing to marketing only? Done. Need to track usage by department for internal billing? Easy. You can set role-based permissions, automate reordering of toner, and get real-time alerts when something needs attention—before it breaks.
We had a client in professional services who, after a few months of using MPS, realised their marketing team was using ten times more paper than any other department. It wasn’t malicious—just a lack of awareness. With a little insight, they cut usage in half without sacrificing output.
Print Security (Yes, It’s a Thing)
When you think about cybersecurity, your mind probably goes to phishing emails or stolen passwords. But printers? They’re often overlooked—and surprisingly vulnerable.
Uncollected printouts sitting on trays. Sensitive contracts printed and left for anyone to see. Files sent to devices with no encryption. It happens more than people think.
With a managed service, print security becomes part of the system. Features like pull printing (where jobs only print when the user is at the device) can make a huge difference. Add encrypted data transfer and automatic audit trails, and suddenly, print becomes part of your compliance story—not a risk.
One legal firm we worked with made the switch after an internal review found printed documents containing client data left out in meeting rooms. Not ideal. Within a month of switching to secure print release, that problem vanished.
Less Pressure on Your IT Team
If your IT team is spending time fixing printers, you’re not getting the best out of them.
Printer issues are the kind of slow, low-level drain that doesn’t seem urgent—until they start stacking up. And they do.
Managed print means your provider handles toner deliveries, device updates, driver rollouts, and maintenance. Some issues are even fixed remotely before anyone on-site notices. That’s less noise for IT, more time for them to focus on the strategic stuff.
We once onboarded a client who had five different printer models across two floors. Their IT manager said he spent a day and a half each month just dealing with printer headaches. After MPS? Zero printer tickets in the first six months. He actually sent us a thank-you email!
Printing with the Planet in Mind
There’s also an environmental angle here. And it’s not just about printing less—it’s about printing smarter.
Managed print helps you set up defaults like duplex printing (double-sided), black and white modes, and draft quality for internal use. It also tracks usage patterns and shows people where they can do better.
Toner recycling programmes, energy-efficient devices, even usage dashboards that nudge teams towards better habits—all part of the package.
We saw this really clearly with an architecture firm that needed to meet ISO 14001 sustainability standards. They thought it would take a full operational overhaul. But with the right print tracking and policies, they hit their target within a year—and cut costs in the process.
Growing? MPS Grows With You
Maybe your business is growing. Maybe it’s already grown and your print setup hasn’t caught up. That’s common.
Managed print is designed to scale. You can add new users and devices easily, deploy consistent settings across sites, and forecast costs with more accuracy—whether it’s pay-as-you-go or a fixed monthly fee.
It’s especially helpful for companies opening new locations or hiring quickly. You don’t want to reinvent your print policy every time you expand.
One recruitment agency we support went from a single office to four in under two years. With MPS, they didn’t need separate setups or new training for each office. Everything just…worked the same way, everywhere.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to ignore printing. Until it becomes a problem. But here’s the thing—by the time it becomes a problem, it’s usually already been one for a while. Just quiet. Hidden. Costing you in ways you don’t always measure.
Managed print isn’t a flashy investment. But it’s a smart one. It brings clarity, reduces waste, protects your data, and gives your team one less thing to worry about.
And honestly? That’s the kind of control most offices could use.
If you’re curious about how your current print setup stacks up—or what streamlining it might look like—it’s worth starting with a simple print audit. You might be surprised by what you find. Speak to our team today to book your free print audit.
