Print Management generally falls into two categories: Services and Solutions. They can often be confused as PMS can be used to refer to either, or both, and a Managed Print Service can refer to the whole process of auditing your print requirements, providing the devices and the associated Print Management Services.
Print Management Services/ Managed Print Services
If you have a copier or modern multifunctional device from any of the major manufacturers, dealers, or resellers, you will usually also have a Service Agreement contract with the device provider or a third party. This covers the cost of your toner or ink and any maintenance or service calls and parts required during the period of your contract. Meter readings and toner are monitored to enable automated billing and toner replacement.
Print Management Solutions
Print Management Solutions are usually third party software applications that can provide a wide range of functions. Rather than just meter and toner monitoring, they will usually monitor the use of printers and copiers in your fleet, providing insights via customisable reports on use by location, groups, individuals, and/or device.
More advanced applications will enable the administrator to establish policies and rules defining who can print what, where, and when. They may have common user interfaces for scanning and provide Follow-Me-Print and Print-Release functions to avoid printouts that are never collected, improving sustainability by reducing waste. Establishing cost centres for charging departments or individuals and pincode or ID badge authorisation are also popular functions required by many organisations and businesses.
Print Security
As organisations struggle to keep up with print security demands of networked print fleets and hybrid or agile work environments, they are increasingly turning to Print Management Solutions. The rise of home working and printing during the pandemic seems to be here to stay and is creating new security concerns. SMEs are finding it harder to keep up with print security challenges leading to a higher incidence of print-related data loss and a lower confidence in the security of their print infrastructure.
According to Quocirca’s Print Security Maturity Index, organisations that have implemented a range of technology and policy measures are seeing lower levels of data loss and have higher confidence in the security of their print infrastructure. (Print Security Landscape Report, Quocirca 2022)
To meet these challenges, XBM offers a range of Print Management Solutions for businesses and organisations of all sizes to help customers mitigate security risks posed by their networked print fleets and hybrid working. Listed below are products selected to help improve security, simplify workflows, reduce waste, and reduce print costs.
