Are you looking for the best managed print services providers but don’t know where to start? You're not alone.
According to Transparency Market Research, managed print services are expected to have a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.3% from 2021-2031, signaling that demand for managed print is only growing.
What also is growing is the need to be informed of your options when it comes to managed print services companies.
Because there are a lot of them out there, and in order for managed print to work, you must have a provider that can execute the cost-cutting and optimization measures that the service offers in the right way.
As a printer/copier company that has been providing print solutions for nearly 40 years, we have extensive experience in the area of managed print services. We know what quality managed print consists of want to share the providers that most stand out.
For this list, we’re going to be focusing on the major printer brands and narrowing down who offers the best managed print services using our industry expertise and empirical data as our primary resources. We've also used customer reviews from Gartner as an additional resource.
This list is in no particular order, and in full transparency, we will be listing the company, Xerox, which we partner with as one of the five best options among the major brands for managed print.
It's possible that some brands not on this list may better meet your managed print requirements, and we’re not going to tell you which one to go with.
We just want to give you the right information so you can make an educated decision when it comes time to choosing a provider.
Before we get into the list, let’s break down what managed print services are so you are aware if what they can offer you.
What Are Managed Print Services?
Managed print services are an optional service offered to better your print environment by controlling printing costs and optimizing all print-related assets.
The way managed print services work will vary by provider, but in general, you will make a monthly payment to have one source (the provider) manage your entire fleet of machines.
This can include automatically shipping your supplies and offering recommendations on which machines are underperforming and being overused, among other things.
Managed print services have many benefits to them, including:
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Cost management and control
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Asset optimization
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Centralized printing solution
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Added security and compliance
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Environmental sustainability
Managed print services are broad, and their benefits and eligibility requirements will differ depending on which one you go with.
For instance, some vendors require a minimum number of machines to implement managed print services, and most do not include Inkjet printers or non-networked devices as a part of the service.
Companies that have a messy print environment and are consistently paying more than they should benefit greatly from what managed print services have to offer.
There are not a lot of cons to managed print if you have a general need for them, but you must qualify for them to truly benefit from the features of the service.
If your print environment is not disorganized and you’re not paying excessively high printing bills, then investing in managed print will not be worth it for you.
Read the blogs below to learn more about managed print services:
Top 5 Managed Print Services Providers
Now that you have a basic understanding of what managed print services are used for, let’s dive into the list, which again, is in no particular order:
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HP
Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) managed print service is one of the leaders in its field due to its experience (over 37 years) and reputation in implementing managed print in different workplaces.
They have a “Design”, “Transition” and “Manage” process when it comes to incorporating managed print into a business’s daily operations. See the image below for details:
Key highlights of HP’s managed print service, according to their website:
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They have over 1,000,000 devices currently under a managed print contract.
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They are the planet’s most comprehensive carbon-neutral MPS offering.
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They have HP’s most advanced print security, HP Wolf Security, with layered protection and resiliency in their managed print offering.
**Customer Rating: 4.3/5 rating by 167 people on Gartner’s website.
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Xerox
Xerox’s managed print service is notable for helping companies cut up to 30% on their printing costs, and they’ve had success implementing managed print into the operations of large entities like The City of New York and The University of the District of Columbia (UDC).
Key highlights of Xerox’s managed print service, according to their website:
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Recognized for the security measures that are a part of their MPS— they were considered an industry leader in Quocirca’s Print Security 2022 Landscape Report.
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They are the only company to receive security authorization from FedRAMP for cloud-based MPS.
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Recognized by Forbes, IDC, Quocirca and Newsweek, for their environmental sustainability efforts, which are a major part of their managed print service.
**Customer Rating: 4.5/5 rating by 116 people on Gartner’s website.
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Canon
Canon is another industry leader in managed print because of its comprehensive approach to MPS and its history of success in the field.
Key highlights of Canon’s managed print service, according to their website:
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Their Fleet Management service measures “the print and scan output against agreed KPIs, providing maintenance and support to ensure high availability and maintain agreed SLAs,” according to Canon.
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Multiple advanced managed print service offerings like Digital Transformation, Hybrid Work and Cloud and Mobile technologies.
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Have shown to save up to 35% on print costs, according to a Case Study on the company, Fujitsu.
**Customer Rating: 4.3/5 rating by 103 people on Gartner’s website.
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Ricoh
Ricoh is another brand that stands out for managed print services, where they have multiple options to choose from for managed print.
They have a subscription model called MPaaS (Managed Print as a Service) that is flexible and allows for a more “seamless digital transformation,” according to their website. They also offer traditional managed print services and a hybrid deployment option.
See some of the goals of Ricoh’s managed print service below:
Key highlights of Rioch’s managed print service, according to their website:
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Named a leader in the IDC MarketScape brief for print and document solutions and services worldwide.
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Its MPaaS subscription model lets you tailor the service to your needs, and you only have to pay for the tiers of service you desire.
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Helped save BDP International’s workforce an estimated $200,000 in annual savings from managed print.
**Customer Rating: 4.1/5 rating by 63 people on Gartner’s website.
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Kyocera
The last brand we will discuss, Kyocera, also offers managed print as a service, and they are noteworthy for their effectiveness in reducing cost and device downtime.
Key highlights of Kyocera’s managed print service, according to their website:
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They offer managed IT support as a part of their managed print service.
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You can get a “loaner” machine if your device has a problem or service times go longer than expected.
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They serve the financial services, healthcare and education industries, among others.
**Customer Rating: 4.6/5 rating by 69 people on Gartner’s website.
Which Managed Print Services Provider Is Right for You?
Now that you’ve seen five options for managed print services, which provider is right for you?
It should be stated that buying managed print directly from one of the companies mentioned in this blog is unlikely. In most cases, you will end up using one of the major brands' authorized partners to carry out the specialized services of their respective managed print offerings.
If you decide to go with one of the major printer brands’ managed print services, you should almost always go with the brand of machines you have. And if you don’t have all of the same brand of machines, you should choose a provider that will help you transition to one brand that you prefer.
For instance, if you have HP as your primary brand of machine, then you will likely want to go with HP’s managed print services to maintain uniformity in your print environment.
All five companies discussed in this list have a solid reputation for customer satisfaction with their managed print services, and they all should be able to execute the basic benefits of managed print.
Messy print environments can become a major source of frustration within businesses, and as a managed print provider ourselves, we know how much they can help clean up a chaotic printing situation.
But you have to know which provider you want first, and as you now know, each managed print provider will differ in some of the unique features they offer.
If you’re interested in inquiring about managed print services, reach out to us and we can use our expertise to help you find your ideal managed print solution.
