"Would you consolidate your devices?"

So after hearing the “shpeel”(really spelled spiel, but I thought I would let my New York accent come through…) from two copier guys, two printer guys, the office supply guy and your best friend’s mother, you finally have decided to go with consolidating devices  and a cost-per-page program.  Brilliant!  That’s got to mean you’ll save at least 30%!

Managed Print Services Myth or Fact Number Two…

Managed Print Services means Cost-per-Page and device consolidation

So after several meetings and a walk through at your building the simple solution is presented.  Your Managed Print Services provider suggests removing all the desk top devices you already own and replacing them with brand new shared multi-function devices.

Now it’s your turn to shine – you convince the CFO that all the end-user grumbling is worth it; after all, you are instituting healthy habits and saving them the need for a health club membership too!  You couldn’t be happier as your MPS expert assures you that those nasty desktop printers cost you three times as much as the $0.006 you will pay for black and white prints and $0.06 for color.  How can you not save at least 30% when the page cost includes everything but the paper – or does it?

The industry is abuzz with cost-per-page and device consolidation.  Every day we are asked by customers if a cost-per-page is the best billing plan and should they take away all desktop printers.  All I can tell you is “sometimes yes, and sometimes no”.  Without knowing end-user habits like what applications they print from, the job sizes and actual page coverage you can’t say whether a cost-per-page is a money saver, or money sucker.

SO can the MPS expert you have chosen honestly tell you that removing devices will really save costs?  Can he/she provide the total cost of ownership information for the devices they are proposing vs. the ones you already own and honestly tell you that the “clicks” are all you will be paying for?  Where are the hidden costs – lease or purchase price, maintenance fees, or shipping charges?  Have you really found your savior, your Eumaeus, or is this really Melanthus or Eurymachus in disguise?  Are you headed on the course you set out on, the way to saving costs, or are you really headed into the land of the Cyclopes???