Read on for everything you need to know about how this offering works for small businesses – or use the links below to get answers to your most pressing questions.

1. What is a managed print service – and how does it differ from purchasing a printer?

2. How do managed print services work for companies of different sizes?

At Brother, we’re committed to making sure there’s a service that meets the needs of every type of customer. We know that large companies have been taking advantage of these types of services for a long time, and we can provide complex, fully tailored solutions suitable for their setup. However, small business can really benefit from this service too.

We know smaller companies might not need a full sales consultation or tailored solution. So in their case, we’re able to provide a more simplified, standardised service that they can quickly and easily benefit from.

3. What are the customer benefits of managed print services?

I think we can narrow it down to 3 key benefits.

First of all, you’re never going to run out of ink or toner. That's really important, because you've obviously got the device for a reason – so not being able to use it, possibly at a critical time, can have a real impact on your business. Your supplies are delivered automatically before you need them – you don’t need to predict when you’re going to need more ink or go online to make a request. You don’t need to do anything. The device is constantly monitored by the supplier and it’s our responsibility to make sure your ink and toner is with you before you need it.

Secondly, the machine's going to be maintained. Our proposition includes parts and labour on-site and an element of proactive service as well to make sure you know your device is always ready to go – it’s not going to break down when you need it. You’ll also receive support in setting up the device, which we know can be complicated.

Thirdly, you lock in a fixed, consistent price and you know exactly what you’ll be paying for. With a managed print service, you pay for the document as you print it – so it’s a far more consistent, flat cost rather than having to spend hundreds of pounds or euros for supplies you might not use for six months. Basically, it helps cash flow – you switch from a commoditised IT product to more of a consumption-based model, which reflects what small businesses are looking for.

4. What are the biggest inconveniences of purchasing a printer in the traditional way?

There are so many different products on the market, you could end up with one that doesn’t meet your business needs – whether that’s the specification or the cost. More often than not, the product that's cheapest to buy is not the most cost-effective to run in the long term.

There’s also always a risk that the device may have maintenance issues. Statistics prove that the majority of calls to IT help desks are print related. It’s the point where physical mechanics meet software, so things can go wrong quite often – whether it’s a user error or a device error. Building a level of maintenance and support into your solution means that investment in the device is always going to be protected. 

5. How can I reduce my printing costs with a managed print service?

I think lots of businesses don't understand how much they’re spending on printing – so the cost-effectiveness of a managed print service really comes in the transparency. You’ll see not just how much the device costs, but how much it’s costing to run with regular quarterly invoices – and having pages vs. hardware costs upfront helps you make the best decision for your business.

Importantly, you’ll remove hidden costs further down the line. While you might know how much the device and the toner costs, you don’t know about the charges for delivery. Or how much you’d pay if you had to panic-buy toner last-minute when you really need to print off a presentation in preparation for a big meeting. These types of issues are soft costs that aren't always kind of calculated when you're making the upfront purchase, but they can really add up.

Lots of vendors – Brother included – also realise you’re making a long-term commitment when you sign up to service, so build discounts into the running costs of the device. You’re getting Brother Original supplies cheaper than online or instore, as and when you need them. 

6. What support and maintenance features are included in a managed print package?

It does vary, and there are a lot of examples on the market of basic print services that just include supplies – but this definitely isn’t the case with Brother. We offer a fully managed service in that you get the supplies, a more intelligent way of paying for these supplies with automation, and a complete, pre-emptive and responsive maintenance service.

The device is fully monitored, and in the first instance you’ve got over the phone support from the Brother team. You also have a portal to request support from them directly and in the rare case an issue can't be resolved over the phone, you’ll get onsite maintenance and support within 1-3 business days. There’s also no return-to-base warranty where you have to send the device back to the manufacturer for them to take a look at. It’s professional, business-style support that’s designed to keep you printing.

7. How do managed print services work? Can you talk us through the process of setting it up?

So there’s probably two routes depending on the type of business you are or the type of solution you want.

For small businesses who want a very standardised or simple service, they’ll start by speaking to an approved Brother supplier who’ll help them find the right product – this will be either through a web page or dialogue with a sales consultant. Then it's as simple as filling in your name and address to a sign-up form and the device will be shipped to you. At this point, you’ll receive a welcome email which details around four steps to install the device and connect to Brother’s robust cloud network. Then you’re up and running! It’s as simple as sign up on a web form and speak with a provider.

If customers are looking for more flexibility or a more tailored service, they’ll again speak to one of our approved suppliers – and they’ll ask five or six questions about the type of product or installation you need (someone can do a site visit to set up devices if necessary and what kind of support they want. Then again, the device will be shipped or brought to you, installed and connected and you’re ready to go.

With both options, you’ll manage your service through an online portal which shows billing information, when supplies have been shipped and allows you to contact the supplier for maintenance.

8. What’s the future of managed print services? If someone already has a plan but they anticipate a change in their needs, can they customise their plan to change as their business does?

Some customers might already have a Brother device without a managed print service. In that case they should get in touch with an approved supplier and we can upgrade them from just the hardware to maintenance, support and supplies automation. If your business has changed and you’re looking for a different service, again, get in touch with your supplier and we can easily change your service to suit you. We know businesses – especially small businesses – are evolving and growing all the time, so we’re always ready to tailor our service to meet their needs. 

9. A lot of businesses have security concerns around their IT – so can you explain how security measures are integrated into your managed print service to help protect sensitive information?

Big or small, every business is concerned with the security of their IT network – and a print service can help support this in a number of ways.

The first is as simple as establishing a process around how printing is managed in the organisation. You’re shifting from an environment where printers break, or an unknown mix of printer brands are plugged into a network - to outsourcing your setup to a dedicated provider that will provide devices you can trust. It’s about introducing a policy around that part of the network and how it’s used.

Secondly, the Brother managed print service also allows you to add various document management solutions. This means you can add controls to how the document is outputted, so if you have particularly sensitive information, you can restrict how that's printed from the device, who can access that information, and build a policy around how documents are used.

We know that businesses are probably printing less documents in general, but the documents they are printing are much more valuable – there’s a greater likelihood that they include sensitive information. This means we’re seeing a lot more smaller businesses looking for a greater level of security around their documents. 

10. How does MPS support new ways of working, such as when staff are fully remote or split their time between home and office?

It’s clear that the big change is people now tend to be working in more than one location, so for us as a supplier, we need to be well placed to deliver a solution that reflects this. In terms of devices, we have a huge range including more compact options that are ideal for home offices. Then for the service, we’re able to support you with a balanced print volume across different locations. So you can benefit from supplies automation and billing details no matter where the device is, or create a setup where users can send a print job from home and collect it when they visit their place of work later in the week. These are all solutions available within our proposition and we can build a package to meet all these requirements.

11. Is print management a service that gives you full visibility over the printing usage and costs?

This is a basic requirement with any print service, so if a supplier is not able to provide that, then I'd suggest a customer looks elsewhere. This is absolutely included with all Brother’s managed print services – and it’s particularly important for small businesses.

We’re really focused on delivering that transparency because it’s something you don’t get when buying a printer in the traditional way. All the questions you have – how long has the toner been in the machine? What did it cost? Where did we get it from? How many times have we paid for an engineer to support the device? With a managed print service, you log into the portal and all these questions are answered. You'll get a very clear view of what the cost has been for your service and you’ll know that that's the only print cost you’ve paid.

12. How does MPS evolve to represent the latest print technologies and practices – and how does this benefit a business?

For us, it’s about constantly refining our offering to reflect what our customers need – especially for small businesses. We know companies like this are looking for consumption-based IT so they can pay for products and services as they use them - they don't want to spend thousands of pounds or euros on IT that they might never use. So we’re always adapting our offering to create their ideal solution.

One of the ways we’ve done this is by simplifying the process – SMEs don’t have 20 minutes to consult on what they want my next print service to do, so we’ve made it possible for them to sign up in 2 minutes. Making things simpler quite often isn't a simple thing to do, but we've invested time and effort in doing that to try and address the needs of different small business customers.

We’re also commitment to investing in new technology, which is why we’ve shifted to using cloud technology to support our printers. That's really important because small businesses are very often changing premises, they're growing – so using on-premise software doesn't really fit their architecture. A cloud connection is far more robust, so it means the device can be moved and we’re still able to support it.

Ready to get started? Contact us and we’ll provide your perfect managed print solution.