Managed Print Services (MPS): driving business efficiency and cost savings

What is a Managed Print Service (MPS)?

A Managed Print Service is exactly what it sounds like: outsourcing the management of your organisation's print environment to a specialist provider, rather than handling it in-house.

Instead of buying printers outright, chasing toner orders, and calling out engineers when a device breaks down, a managed print provider takes ownership of the whole fleet. That typically includes:

• Supplying and maintaining printers, multifunction devices and related hardware
• Monitoring usage, consumables and device health remotely
• Proactively ordering toner and scheduling servicing before problems occur
• Providing a single point of contact for support, incidents and requests

In short, MPS turns printing from an unpredictable, reactive cost centre into a managed, monitored and optimised service - much like organisations already do with their IT support or network management.

Why print still matters in a hybrid, digital-first world

It's tempting to assume printing is a shrinking concern in the age of cloud collaboration and digital documents. In practice, most companies still rely on printed and scanned documents for contracts, compliance records, client-facing materials and day-to-day administration. Add hybrid working into the mix, and print environments have often become more fragmented, not less - with devices, users and print jobs spread across offices and home setups.

That complexity is precisely why a managed approach pays off.

How Managed Print Services benefit businesses

1. Cost control

Print costs are notoriously difficult to track because they can be spread across hardware one-off purchases or leases, consumables, ad hoc repairs and staff time. A managed print service consolidates this into predictable, transparent costs by utilising our flat rate, tracking print volumes, and giving you real visibility into where money is actually being spent.

2. Document and cyber security

Printers are often overlooked as a cyber security risk, yet traditional printer infrastructure usually sits on an open network, giving attackers room to move once they're in. A Managed Print Service closes that gap: even at the endpoint alone, a printer can be locked down so a compromise doesn't spread to other machines, and our MPS goes further with uniFLOW Online, enabling a micro-segmented, zero trust approach that verifies devices and users individually and supports compliance with industry regulations.

3. Reduced IT burden

When printers are left to individual departments, or the IT team to manage alongside everything else, they become a constant low-level drain on time and attention. Outsourcing to a managed provider means a single point of escalation handles incidents, requests and the full ticket lifecycle, freeing internal teams to focus on higher-value work.

4. Environmental sustainability

Print environments contribute more to a business's environmental footprint than many organisations account for. A managed service can help implement strategies to minimise paper and energy usage, and using devices designed to generate lower CO2 output supports a more sustainable office overall.

5. Support for hybrid working

With staff splitting time between the office and home, print needs have become less predictable and harder to plan for. A well-designed managed print service is built to flex around hybrid patterns, ensuring the right devices, security and support are in place wherever your people are working.

6. Smooth integration

A common concern with outsourcing any part of IT infrastructure is disruption. Good managed print providers design their service to integrate with your existing systems with minimal changes required, so the switch shouldn't mean upheaval for day-to-day operations. You can go further to keep everything running smoothly by choosing a provider that can support the underlying network, cloud, and security services your print environment depends on, creating a simpler and more joined-up experience.

Is managed print right for your business?

If print costs are hard to pin down, IT is fielding printer support tickets it shouldn't have to, or you simply don't have visibility over how your print fleet is performing, a managed print service is worth exploring. It's a modular offering, so the right setup - from health checks to monthly reporting can be shaped around how your business actually works, rather than a one-size-fits-all package.

How we can help

Our managed print service is delivered through Canon's print, imaging and software technology, combined with our own portfolio of IT support, hybrid cloud management, and intelligent connectivity. That means your print environment isn't managed in isolation - it's backed by a service desk that acts as your single point of escalation, with monthly reporting and monitoring built in as standard.

We work with you to shape a modular offering suited to your environment, whether that's reporting or regular health checks.

FAQs