DECIPHERING

MANAGED PRINT
UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL PITFALLS
OF A MANAGED PRINT SERVICE CONTRACT.
Issue 02

In this issue
Understanding Lifetime costs ............. 1

The Elephant in the Room ................... 3

Why DTP....................................... 6

Reading the Small Print ...................... 1

Establishing a Clear Contract Policy .... 4

Understanding the terminology

Understanding the Potential Pitfalls .... 2

Contract Detail Check List .................. 5

and key questions to ask .......... 2-4

Understanding True Lifetime Costs.

Whats the Catch?
The cost of a Managed Print Service is often well justified on a
spreadsheet. The total cost of a new consolidated fleet is pitched
against the old fleet, revealing an impressive savings figure of
between 20-30%.
However, its important that clients are asking the right questions
to avoid the potential pitfalls that many become victim to. In this
article we have tried to highlight these pitfalls and help clients ask
the right questions to ensure that suppliers are being judged across
the same level playing field, as well as by the high commercial and
moral standards that we have adopted as a company for over 25
years.

Reading the Small Print

There are numerous examples in our industry where clients have been
caught out by contractual small print and what looked like a good deal
to start with, turning into a far more expensive endeavour! Minimum
volume commitments, onerous service termination penalties and
annual increases to pricing are just some of the examples that we
regularly encounter in our industry.

Around 98% of all tender documents fail to

address several of the key contractual threats
that are common within our industry, and
therefore do not protect you against sharp
practice. This is an approach that has been
known to be taken by some organisations that
do not share our own ethical stance when it
comes to writing contracts.

Whats the Answer?

DTP has, for over 25 years, had an open and
honest approach to our business dealings.
Sometimes we are not the cheapest when
measured on day one, however over the life of
a contract it is a different story and that is why
we retain over 95% of our customers on
contract renewal.
DTP does not have any nasty contractual
clauses and relies solely on a high quality of
service, open book approach and delivery of
significant cost savings over the life of the
contract. This allows us to attract and retain
a growing base of customers across both
the public and private sectors.

Deciphering Managed Print - Understanding the Potential Pitfalls of a Managed Print Service Contract.

UNDERSTANDING THE
POTENTIAL PITFALLS

Making sense of the

small print: Understanding
the terminology and the
key questions to ask.

In the consumer world there are countless TV programmes and websites

dedicated to exposing sharp practices, from cowboy builders to second
hand car salesmen.
However in the business world, particular within our industry, awareness
levels of poor practice and contractual clauses are far lower despite the
significantly negative impact on the end user.
We would like to give people a better understanding of the way contracts
are written and provide them with the key questions that they should be
asking of any potential new supplier.

Understanding the terminology and the key questions to ask.

Industry terminology

Managed print
contract

Service Level
Agreement (SLA)

Question you should ask

Understanding the small print

Is there a minimum volume

commitment?

If there is a minimum volume commitment

you are liable for that volume, regardless of
whether the devices have printed those
pages or not. If volumes drop significantly,
your costs might not follow suit!

How are the different elements of cost

made up (e.g. equipment, ongoing
maintenance)?

It is important to see all costs included

and broken down within the agreement
to ensure you are achieving best value
for each element.

Are there any third parties involved in

the contract (e.g. leasing, service)?

It is important to understand the other

parties that have a contractual investment
in any agreement and understand any
terms and conditions they may have.

What would the service termination

cost be if we cancelled after year one,
two or three?

With certain suppliers this is a figure that

can run into tens, or even hundreds, of
thousands of pounds, even if you want to
terminate due to poor service. At DTP we
work to a 3 month no penalty notice period,
but it is not something a client has ever
used!

Are all technicians fully trained

on my proposed device?

Many multi-brand suppliers do not have fully

manufacturer-trained technicians, but rather
people trying to be a jack of all trades and
master of none!

How is response time measured?

Is it the time taken to receive a call back,
receive a response from a technician or
have a technician onsite?

It is important to understand how long it will

take to get an engineer to your site and get
your devices back up and running, as well
as understand how this is measured.

4 or 8 hour
response

Deciphering Managed Print - Understanding the Potential Pitfalls of a Managed Print Service Contract.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

As we respond to many tender requests, we have realised that our potential customers
tend to simplify the evaluation of potential suppliers to aid with the measurement processes.
Unfortunately, this has left many companies exposed and means that they fail to see the
elephant in the room.
It is only industry insiders that can help you make sense of the numerous ways that various
providers can mislead you through vague descriptions and simplified costs that may seem
perfectly reasonable to the uninformed.

Understanding the terminology and the key questions to ask (continued)

Industry terminology

Cost per page

Duplex print or
copy charges

Question you should ask

Cost per colour page

Toner inclusive

How long is the cost per page charge

for? Is this guaranteed for the life of the
contract or are there annual percentage
increases?

If I print a 3 page document, using

duplex mode, how many impressions/
pages will I becharged for? Youd think it
would be 3, but it is actually 4!

How is colour page charge calculated?

Understanding the small print

At DTP we guarantee our cost per page

charges for the life of the contract that
customers sign up to. We wont have any
annual increases in the meantime, as many
suppliers do.

With DTP, a blank page does not attract

a toner charge. After all, it is blank! It does
use the other engine parts, therefore
there is a small charge at one tenth of the
A4 cost.

A colour impression comprises all colours

and for a corresponding percentage of an
A4 or A3 page. You should make sure you
are only paying for the percentage of
colour that you use!

Is toner pricing based on manufacturer

original cartridges? Will using a third
party toner invalidate manufacturer
warranty or support agreement?

DTP only uses genuine OEM toner,

guaranteeing quality and longevity of
the asset.

Whats your average coverage of the

pages you print?

Cost per page pricing is based on an average

coverage of 5% which is significantly higher
than most companys actual rate of coverage.
At DTP you will only be charged based on the
toner you have used.

Deciphering Managed Print - Understanding the Potential Pitfalls of a Managed Print Service Contract.

ESTABLISHING A CLEAR
CONTRACT POLICY
The best way to establish a clear contract policy is to ensure that you ask
the right questions of all potential suppliers, that you see a copy of all the
terms and conditions up front, and that you make sure all potential
suppliers are assessed on a level playing field.

Understanding the terminology and the key questions to ask (continued)

Industry terminology

Flexible leasing
Lease Flexing
Print Plan
Copy plan

Inclusive prints

Question you should ask

TVRP (Total
volume rental plan)
Image Flex

Cancel at any time

What exactly is a flexible lease?

This is where they claim to be able to
change equipment at any point in the
agreement and it will not impact on your
monthly or quarterly cost.

What happens if I dont use all the free

pages? Do I get a refund?

What penalty clauses apply for

not achieving estimated volumes?

Understanding the small print

l
l

Can I walk away as I cancel,

or give notice at any time in the
primary period? Are there
any penalties?

They fail to mention the fact that any slight

change to the equipment will result in the
lease starting a fresh. Here customers are
left with an ageing fleet and a contract term
far longer than expected, whilst being stuck
with the supplier and a vast penalty cost for
early termination.

This is the number of free pages included

in your agreement, but effectively it is just
pages that you are paying for up front.

A TVRP aggregates the cost of lease into the

cost per copy, which is generally based on
an agreed volume which will apply for the
life of the device. However, here you are
committing to a volume regardless of
whether you use it or not, leaving little
incentive to reduce your print volume and
expenditure.

DTP offers a simple 3 month no penalty get

out clause if you are not happy with our
service. Many other suppliers, on the other
hand, will offer similar clauses but with
significant and undisclosed financial
penalties attached.

Deciphering Managed Print - Understanding the Potential Pitfalls of a Managed Print Service Contract.

CONTRACT DETAIL
CHECK LIST

Answers
Q.

Answers

Who owns the hardware when

the lease period ends?

Q.

How much notice do I have to

give to cancel?

Q.

Are there any penalties for cancelling?

Q.

How will I be billed?

Q.

Is there a minimum volume

commitment?

Q.

Is the cost per page linked to the

contract term and, if not, what is the
annual percentage increase applied?

Q.

How is cost per page calculated?

What is your average percentage
of toner coverage used per page?

Deciphering Managed Print - Understanding the Potential Pitfalls of a Managed Print Service Contract.

IS YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER

PLAYING WITH A STRAIGHT
BAT OR WOULD THEY
EMPLOY TACTICS THAT
ARE SIMPLY NOT CRICKET?!
Know who and what you are dealing
with before you commit.

Why DTP
DTP Group was founded over 27 years ago and now provides a
range of IT products, services and solutions to a range of clients
across the public and private sectors.
We honed our service delivery skills in the challenging education
and university sectors and, over the last few years, have expanded
into the corporate environment where we are leading with the same
open and honest approach.
If you would like our help in looking at either your current agreement
and the potential drawbacks within it,
or a future agreement that you may be procuring, we would be only
too pleased to help. Thank you for taking the time to read this article
and we hope it may be of some use.

Contact us
Telephone:

0113 276 0210

Email:

managed-print@dtpgroup.co.uk

Web:

www.dtpgroup.co.uk

DTP MPS Division, DTP House, Bowcliffe Road,

Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS10 1HB