Nobody joins an SME to manage printers, the job falls to whoever is nearest. Whether that’s an office manager, a director or the one person in IT. They clear jams, order toner, chase engineers and keep track of agreements, all on top of their actual job. None of that shows up on a print invoice, that’s why it’s so easy to underestimate. Add the disruption when a device goes down, the time spent dealing with several suppliers and the security updates nobody remembers to install, and self-management becomes one of the least visible burdens in the business.
The real cost is rarely money. Below we explain what running a printer fleet involves, the signs it’s taking more effort than it should and what changes when the right third party provider takes it on.
Who manages the printers in a typical SME?
Print rarely appears in anyone’s job description. In a business without an IT department, it usually lands with the office manager. In larger SMEs, it sits with IT, competing with every other ticket. Either way, it’s somebody’s side job.
That person becomes the accidental print manager. They know which device jams, where the spare toner is and which number to call. When they’re on holiday, nobody else does.
At Lynbrook, our Service Helpdesk is your first point of contact for all service-related requests. You can reach us by phone, email or simply by scanning the QR code on your multifunction device (MFD) or printer, making it quick and easy to get the support you need.
When a fault is reported, our Service Helpdesk, overseen by an experienced Service Engineer, assesses the issue and determines the best course of action. Where possible, we resolve problems remotely over the phone. If an engineer visit is required, we will dispatch the engineer with the knowledge and parts to complete the repair efficiently, minimising disruption and downtime. For supplies, the Service Helpdesk will quickly arrange delivery via either our inhouse delivery driver or by next day courier.
Print falls between roles for a reason, and we explain why in our guide to hidden print waste.
What managing a printer fleet involves
Most of the work is small. It’s also constant. A typical list looks like this:
- Clearing paper jams and fixing minor faults
- Ordering, storing and changing toner
- Logging faults and chasing engineers
- Installing drivers and setting up new starters
- Applying firmware and security updates
- Taking meter readings and checking invoices
- Tracking agreements and renewal dates
- Arranging safe disposal of old devices
Although each task only takes a few minutes, when you spread across a year and several devices, it adds up to a sizeable job that nobody was hired to do. It also interrupts whatever that person was meant to be doing.
The real impact of printer downtime
When a shared device stops working, the work behind it stops too. Contracts don’t go out, invoices wait and important documents like delivery notes, school reports and site drawings sit in a queue.
Some sectors feel it more than others. Legal teams work to court and client deadlines. Supply chain businesses rely on paperwork moving with the goods. In education, reports and letters home wait on the same machine. A device that’s down for a day can hold up far more than printing. Repeat visits make it worse. An engineer who arrives without the right part means a second wait. That’s why Lynbrook works to a one visit, one fix commitment, with every engineer carrying at least £5,000 of stock in their vehicle.
Too many suppliers, too many agreements
Fleets built up over time tend to come with a tangle of suppliers. One company supplied the copier, another services the printers, toner comes from a third, and a finance company sits behind the lease. Each has its own terms, contacts and renewal dates. So, when something goes wrong, working out who is responsible takes time in itself and nobody owns the whole picture.
If you’re weighing up a different arrangement, our comparison of managed print vs buying or leasing your own printers sets out the options.
The security job nobody is doing
Networked printers and MFDs are computers. They need firmware and security updates like any other device on your network. In a self-managed fleet, those updates are easy to miss. Few people think of the printer as a security risk.
Larger businesses find this hard too. Quocirca’s Global Print Security Landscape 2023 found that half of mid-market organisations (500 to 999 employees) say print security is becoming harder to manage. The world has continued to get more complex, with the potential for risk since then.
Old devices bring a different risk as many store data on an internal drive, which needs wiping or destroying before disposal. Our GDPR and print security and cybersecurity pages cover both in more detail.
How to work out what your fleet takes to run
You can measure the hidden side of self-management in about a month. It needs no special tools.
- Log the tasks. Ask whoever looks after the printers to note every printer job they do for four weeks: what it was and how long it took.
- Record the downtime. Note each time a device stops working, how long it was out and what work was held up.
- List every supplier and agreement. Include servicing, toner, finance and any IT support that touches print.
- Check the devices. Record the age of each one and, if anyone knows, when it last had a firmware update.
Compare the results with your invoices. The invoice shows the money. The log shows what you pay in time, and that’s usually the bigger number to act on.
Seven signs your printer fleet needs managing
- One person is the go-to for every printer problem. If they’re off, problems wait.
- You’ve run out of toner in the last few months. Monitoring should catch it first.
- An engineer has visited more than once for the same fault. Each extra visit means more downtime.
- You deal with more than one print supplier. Every extra supplier adds admin.
- Nobody knows when your agreements end. Renewals can catch you out.
- Your devices haven’t had a firmware update in a long time. Or nobody knows.
- Old printers are sitting in a cupboard. They’re waiting for someone to deal with them, possibly with data still on them.
If several of these sound familiar, your fleet is taking more time than it should.
What changes when your fleet is managed for you
Handing the fleet to a managed print provider takes the job away from the accidental print manager. With Lynbrook, that means:
- One point of contact. You’ll always speak to a named professional, never an automated system.
- Requests at any time. Online forms for service and toner, including outside working hours.
- Remote access support. Meter readings are collected automatically via our dedicated meter collection software can be submitted online too.
- One visit, one fix. Engineers carry the stock to fix faults in a single trip.
- Monitored devices. Supplies are replaced before they run out.
- Local engineers. Based in the North West, with UK-wide coverage.
Your devices, supplies, servicing and support sit in one managed print service agreement. Find out more about our customer support.
Judge the print burden, not just the print bill
Managing your own printers rarely looks expensive, because the cost is paid in time, disruption and risk rather than on an invoice. Price alone misses that. A free print audit shows what your fleet takes to run today and what would change. Book a free print audit to get the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
What is print fleet management?
Print fleet management means looking after all of a business’s printers and MFDs as one group. That covers servicing, supplies, updates, monitoring and replacement. It can be done in-house. It can also be handed to a managed print provider.
How much time does managing printers take?
It varies with the number of devices, their age and how much they’re used. The easiest way to find out is to ask whoever looks after them to log their printer tasks for a month. Most totals are higher than expected.
Can we keep our existing printers under a managed service?
Sometimes, it all depends on whether the models sit within our current portfolio so we can ensure we have the required know how and parts should a fault occur.
What does ‘one visit, one fix’ mean?
Faults are fixed in one trip. Every engineer carries a minimum of £5,000 of stock, so the right parts are on hand.
Do you cover businesses outside the North West?
Yes. Lynbrook’s engineers are based in the North West, with coverage across the UK.
