How Print Management Can Reduce Manufacturing Overhead

In manufacturing, every dollar counts. While a lot of companies focus intensely on optimizing production lines and streamlining supply chains, there's often a significant cost center that tends to fly under the radar — printing. 

Printing is often a business’s third-highest expense! That’s a lot of money going down the drain — too much to keep ignoring it. Studies consistently show that businesses that partner with a Managed Print Services (MPS) provider can reduce their print-related expenses by up to 30%. In this blog, I’ll explore some of the tricks of the trade, so you can start saving some serious money — whether you decide to manage your print environment yourself or outsource that task to a provider.  

Understanding the Hidden Costs of Unmanaged Printing 

Most manufacturing operations require extensive documentation — work orders, quality control reports, compliance paperwork, shipping manifests, safety protocols, and operational manuals. When print infrastructure isn't properly managed, costs accumulate in ways that aren't immediately visible:

• Untracked supply spending and emergency purchases at premium prices
• IT staff diverted from critical projects to troubleshoot printer issues
• Excess devices consume energy and require maintenance
• Downtime that delays production schedules
• Security vulnerabilities that could lead to costly data breaches

These hidden expenses compound over time, creating a significant drag on operational efficiency and profitability. The good news? There are proven strategies to address each of these issues.

Strategic Supply Management

The first step to reducing print overhead is getting control of your supply spending. Without visibility into usage patterns, most manufacturers either overstock supplies (tying up capital) or run out at critical moments (forcing expensive rush orders).

The DIY Approach

If a lot of people are tasked with ordering supplies as-needed, some waste is bound to happen. Plus, not having a designated “printer person” and approved supply vendors can also leave you more vulnerable to toner pirates. 

So here are my supply management tips if you’d like to manage your printers in-house: 

• Implementing a tracking system for toner, paper, and other consumables
• Assign a specific person — a key operator — to monitor inventory levels and usage rates across your devices
• Establish reorder points based on actual consumption data rather than guesswork to prevent stockouts and excess inventory

When You Might Need a Pro

If you're operating multiple facilities — especially across different states — maintaining accurate supply tracking becomes exponentially harder. Each location may have different devices, different usage patterns, and different supply needs. Coordinating bulk purchasing while ensuring each site has what it needs requires sophisticated tracking and logistics.

This is one instance where MPS providers can deliver significant value. They use automated monitoring systems that track usage across your entire fleet in real-time, regardless of location. Instead of each facility ordering supplies independently, you benefit from centralized management and volume purchasing power while maintaining just-in-time delivery to each site.

Pro tip: If your business operates in multiple states, look for a provider that can provide seamless service regardless of location. Not all can, and you don’t want to swap one complication for another. 

Right-Sizing Your Fleet

Many manufacturers operate with more printing devices than necessary, which is often the result of years of departmental purchasing decisions without centralized oversight. But every device requires maintenance and supplies, all of which are expensive. So getting rid of extra devices gets rid of a lot of ongoing expenses. 

The DIY Approach

These tasks can be time-consuming, but eye-opening: 

• Conduct a comprehensive audit of every printer, copier, and multifunction device in your facility
• Document what each device is used for, how often, and by whom
• Look for redundancies, like multiple devices sitting idle or departments with more equipment than they need
• Remove personal printers and other excess equipment when possible, while keeping high-capacity devices in central locations

Pro tip: Anticipate some resistance to removing personal printers! We try to remove them whenever possible, because they tend to lack important cybersecurity features and can really run up your supply and repair bills. Plus, if document security is the issue, there are better solutions to keep private information private. 

When You Might Need a Pro

For single-location manufacturers, this audit is manageable. But just like managing supplies, these tasks are going to be a lot harder if you're operating facilities in multiple states. 

National MPS providers will have assessment teams that can evaluate your entire multi-location operation systematically. They'll identify consolidation opportunities across your whole organization, implement standardized solutions, and provide leadership with comprehensive visibility into print costs at every facility. We go so far as to look at office floor plans to find the ideal printer placement so you can save money without forcing people with higher print needs to waste time walking back and forth to a printer. 

Implementing Proactive Maintenance

Hardware failures are expensive — both in terms of repair costs and operational downtime that can delay production schedules. They’re also frustrating. Printers get a bad rap for being problematic, but they’re kind of like cars. Good maintenance prevents a lot of breakdowns. 

The DIY Approach

You know what they say — if everyone is responsible for something, no one is. Whoever acts as your key operator is also in charge of making sure your printing equipment is maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Here’s how to maintain more proactively: 

• Establish a regular maintenance schedule for your print devices 
• Train staff to recognize warning signs of impending failures 
• Keep detailed service records and track which devices require frequent repairs (indicating they may need replacement) 
• Build relationships with local service providers who can respond quickly when issues arise

When You Might Need a Pro

Proactive maintenance can reduce disruptions, but if you want to prevent a lot of them entirely, you’re going to want predictive capabilities — identifying problems before they cause failures. This means monitoring device performance metrics, tracking error patterns, and detecting early warning signs of component wear. 

Sophisticated monitoring software can detect these warning signs automatically, but implementing this technology across multiple locations with diverse equipment requires significant investment and expertise. MPS providers already have these systems in place and can monitor your entire fleet remotely, and some providers can also do this for a much broader spectrum of devices, including Zebra devices. That means a tech can show up with the exact part that needs replacing before you even knew that was a problem. That’s nice! 

It’s also very nice not to have to stock extra thermal printers “just in case”!

Freeing Your Team To Focus on Core Operations

Every minute your staff spends managing printers, ordering supplies, or troubleshooting device issues is time they're not spending on revenue-generating activities. 

The DIY Approach

Here’s how you can streamline your print-related processes as much as possible, even if you keep print management entirely in-house: 

• Designate a specific staff member, either across locations or at each location, to handle print management responsibilities (your key operator(s))
• Implement self-service options where appropriate so employees can resolve simple issues without IT involvement
• Document common problems and solutions to reduce recurring support requests
• Consider automated supply ordering

Yes! You can just partner with an MPS provider to automate supply ordering — without all the other bells and whistles. Specialized software can monitor ink and toner levels in your devices, so you can get the correct supplies right when you need them. 

When You Might Need a Pro

Even with optimized processes, print management consumes staff bandwidth — particularly IT resources that should be focused on strategic initiatives. The challenge multiplies with each additional location. You're either dedicating staff at each facility to handle these tasks, or you're trying to coordinate print management across multiple sites from a central team.

With an MPS provider handling these tasks, your employees can focus entirely on manufacturing operations. For multi-location operations, you gain the efficiency of centralized management without requiring your team to coordinate across facilities.

Multi-Location Standardization

Inconsistent print infrastructure creates unnecessary complexity and costs, and that inconsistency is pretty easy to happen — especially if you’ve got multiple locations or you’ve grown through acquisitions! 

The DIY Approach

If mismatched equipment is an issue for you, here’s what you should tackle over time: 

• Establish standards for which devices your organization will use that take into account various departmental needs
• Negotiate volume pricing with preferred vendors if possible 
• Create standardized processes for print management that all facilities follow
• Train staff at each location on these standards

When You Might Need a Pro

Implementing and maintaining standardization across facilities in different states is often easier said than done and requires ongoing coordination. Different locations may have established relationships with local vendors. Each facility may have inherited different equipment from previous management decisions. Enforcing standards while managing local exceptions can be a big hassle if you don’t really have the bandwidth for it. 

Larger MPS providers, though, specialize in exactly this challenge. Plus, they can leverage their volume purchasing power on your behalf and provide centralized reporting that gives leadership complete visibility into print costs organization-wide. And in case you were wondering, yes, sometimes having a third party be the one to suggest a change makes it much easier to implement. When we’re brought on, we understand that part of the job is to suggest solutions that make every department happy. It’s something we were able to do for a large healthcare provider with multiple locations and complex print needs, and it made a big difference! 

Other Ways Print Management Can Reduce Factory Overhead Costs

If you do all of the DIY steps I just outlined, you can save quite a bit of money. But here are a few ways you could possibly save even more: 

Energy and Space

If you found that you could reduce the amount of equipment you have, you don’t just save on maintenance and supplies. You also save money on your utility bills while freeing up some extra office space. 

Enhanced Security

Print-related security vulnerabilities can lead to data breaches affecting sensitive manufacturing data, compliance information, and employee records. It’s hard to quantify the costs of something that doesn’t happen. But for manufacturers, the average data breach costs $5.56 million. Just one can be catastrophic. It’s often hard to justify spending on cybersecurity, but some print providers (okay, us!) will offer print security services as part of their regular managed print offering. 

Marco's Comprehensive Manufacturing Print Solutions

At Marco, we understand that manufacturers have unique printing requirements that go beyond standard office equipment. We’re happy to provide your hard-working Zebra printers with the same level of care. And as a large national provider, we can provide seamless service across multiple states while providing our clients with insider pricing on equipment. 

Curious about how much your manufacturing operation could save with optimized print management? The numbers might surprise you. Most manufacturers discover significant cost reduction opportunities once they understand their true print-related expenses. 

Try our print cost calculator to see how much you could save. It's the first step toward reducing overhead and improving your bottom line.