MFD vs. Desktop Printer Myth
Several years ago our industry was plagued with a one off message to customers that they should remove their costly out of control desktop printers for fewer centralised multifunction devices. The whole approach was to rationalise asset procurement costs through integrating multiple devices into one and achieving fixed controlled running costs – a stark contrast to the cheaper asset acquisition cost of the desktop printer world that then had high uncontrollable running costs. To be fair the strategy had quite a lot of merit and in many cases was proven to be successful and deliver results.
Quite rightly many customers felt that this approach was not for them. Common objections would be that significant change would be required, that ‘all their eggs would be in one basket’, that multifunction devices required people to walk and collect documents, that security levels would not be as good, that the office layout did not support this technology platform etc. This all compounded the internal challenges within customers surrounding which division (usually IT or facilities) took responsibility for budgets, helpdesk processes, MAC processes and service processes.
The multifunction device has now become a part of most companies printing, copying, scanning and faxing infrastructure although in the majority of cases, not at the expense of the desktop printer. It is very typical to find clients who have a full fleet of multifunction devices also who have a full fleet of desktop printers. There are benefits to this infrastructure and people have realised that a correct print strategy has a mix of both types of platforms.
At Xeretec we have acknowledged for many years that the correct print strategy involves four main elements – the desktop services, the multifunction service, the print room services and the outsourced services. The strategy that delivers the best results requires a unification and alignment of these four areas.
We have built our business around being able to unify these four areas for our clients. A good example of this is our ability to provide the cheaper asset costs of a desktop printer with a fixed lower cost per page that is comparable to a multifunction device. In essence providing the benefits of the multifunction business model to the desktop space. This allows us to provide a consistent cost per page whether a document is produced on a desktop device, a multifunction device or a print room device. The customer obtains the benefits of having the correct mix of technology along with the commercial benefits of lower running / support costs.
Through working with the leading technology suppliers of HP and Xerox we have solutions in all areas – many of which can be applied to existing fleets of equipment. These services stem right from a basic fixed cost per page on printers through to a full blown managed service agreement. No longer do customers have to hear the same old lines around consolidating to one multifunction device – this may form a part of the strategy, but is very rarely the strategy.
We have many reference sites where we can demonstrate this approach. If this is an area that is of interest, we would love to discuss our unique and different approach with you.
