With over 40 years of experience in the managed print industry, Richard Finch has witnessed a technical evolution. Supplying and servicing photocopiers and fax machines in the home counties since 1984, he’s seen the machines evolve from the “copy only” to full colour scanning and printing devices with full finishing options and booklet making functionality.

Now, in the digital age, with print solutions aligning closely to the IT industry, we sat down with Richard to find out all about the most sought after print management services on offer today.

How did your career in print management begin?

I started my business supplying photocopiers and fax machines in 1988 and developed it into a reasonably sized print management company, eventually selling to Mirus IT in 2017, when I became part of the team.

Our business was built on a customer first service delivery which remains the same today. Testament to that, we still have a large number of customers that have grown with our business from the start.

How has the print management business evolved?

There was a joke in the late 1980s/ 90s that a company would have a parking space for the Managing Director and another for the copier engineer……Paper jams and issues with the technology were the norm back then!

However, the photocopiers of yesteryear have evolved into reliable multi-functional full colour business machines.

Who do you supply and how do their needs differ?

Our clients range from single user businesses utilising a single desktop printer to large corporate companies requiring a fleet of machines across multi sites throughout the UK, with 1000’s of users, utilising colour/copy/print and scanning with secure print release solutions.

Tell us about the print management services that you supply

Managed print customers can choose to either purchase our machines outright or rent through our partner finance companies, with three- and five-year payment terms. All of our machines are offered with fully inclusive cost per page with ongoing service back up agreements.

Our main suppliers are Develop/Konica for our A3 office device and Epson for our entry level A4 Injet desktop machines.

We also offer secure print solutions through partnerships with Papercut and YSoft SafeQ for print security features requirements including Two-Factor Authentication and central server document storage to ensure that printed documents are released only on demand as required by the user.

Is print management a cost-effective option for businesses?

We’ve yet to find a client we haven’t made considerable savings for, by challenging their print needs and identifying savings and reductions on legacy machines and contracts.

Can you tell us about a client you’ve worked with recently?

Champneys is a good example where we’ve made big savings across the whole business by reducing a fleet of 140 printers, with differing manufacturers and suppliers, and replacing them with a low number of multi-functional machines supported by Print Management to reduce both the volume of printing and colour use.

You’ve worked with Mirus for 10 years now. What’s kept you working together, even though you eventually sold your business to them?

The copying industry had a bad reputation in the 80’s and 90’s, fortunately like the old photocopier, it has also evolved for the better. The technology of print/scan and secure print solutions means that we are closely aligned to the IT industry, which is why our move to Mirus has been, and continues to be, such a success.

Mirus also built their client base on a customer first approach, our long-term clients are testament to this. All of which has only been possible with a strong team of loyal people, some of whom have been here for over 15 years.

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