September 16, 2025
Manufacturing runs on documentation — from purchase orders and shipping manifests to quality control reports and compliance paperwork. Yet many manufacturers are still drowning in paper-based processes that eat up valuable time and squeeze productivity. If your staff spends more time hunting for documents than making products, and printer failures create ripple effects throughout your operation, it's time to consider a managed print services (MPS) provider.
That said, not all MPS providers are created equal. In this blog, I’ll provide my tips for finding the right partner.
Why Manufacturers Need More Than Basic Print Services
Manufacturing operates on razor-thin margins where every inefficiency counts.
When printers go down, production documentation stops flowing. When staff can't quickly access quality control reports or shipping manifests, customer orders get delayed. When file cabinets crowd workspaces and manual filing consumes hours each day, operational costs go up.
Modern managed print services go far beyond simply fixing broken printers. The right provider can transform your entire document workflow through smart software integration, proactive monitoring, predictive maintenance, and seamless automation that keeps your supply chain moving.
What To Look for When Considering Managed Print Services for Manufacturing
Managed print services providers are not all the same! What you get will depend on your provider’s capabilities. Beyond the basics, here would be my list of must-haves for manufacturing clients:
Integration With Your Existing Systems
Look for providers who understand manufacturing execution systems (MES) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration. Your print management software should seamlessly connect with these critical systems, creating an uninterrupted flow of documentation throughout your supply chain ecosystem.
Proactive Equipment Management
The best providers use sophisticated monitoring software that runs 24/7. Instead of waiting for equipment to fail, they dispatch technicians with replacement parts before disruptions occur.
This is especially crucial for manufacturers who can't afford production delays due to printing issues.
Industrial Printer Expertise
If you use specialized equipment like Zebra printers for labeling and tracking, ensure your provider can service these devices and has experience with industrial printing environments.
True story — we’ve partnered with more than one manufacturing client that has purchased backup Zebra printers to avoid disruptions and delays. That’s expensive and unnecessary when your print partner can prevent failures before they happen.
Red Flags That Should Send You Running
Feel free to weed out any providers if you start seeing any of these:
Limited Manufacturer Support
Avoid providers tied to a single printer brand. Manufacturing environments often have mixed fleets, and you need someone who can manage Canon, HP, Zebra, and other manufacturers under one unified approach.
Hidden Costs and Surprise Charges
Watch out for contracts where repairs, replacement parts, or security services cost extra. The best providers include comprehensive coverage in their base pricing, including automated supply ordering and predictive maintenance.
Weak Security Offerings
This is non-negotiable for manufacturers! Printers are connected devices that can serve as entry points for cybercriminals targeting your confidential supplier, partner, and customer information.
Look for a provider that offers robust print security services. Most will offer print security for an additional fee. At Marco, it’s part of our regular service offering.
Unclear Service Level Agreements
Pay close attention to guaranteed response times, escalation procedures, and accountability measures. If the service level agreement (SLA) doesn't specify what happens when they miss response times or fail to meet promises, you'll be left hanging when problems arise.
Concerning Technician Incentives
Before you sign with a provider, ask them how they incentivize their technicians. It’s common to pay print techs more the more often they make on-site repairs. Before predictive maintenance, that made some sense. Now, those incentives aren’t aligned with clients’ best interests.
Consider this — sometimes print techs notice something when they’re solving one issue that’s going to cause another issue in, say, a month or two. Do you want that technician to be incentivized to fix it right then and there, or do you want them to get paid more if they ignore it, knowing they’ll have another panicked service call from you in a month or two?
One unpleasant side effect of incentivizing on-site visits? You see more frequent disruptions. That’s the opposite of what you’re paying for!
We incentivize our technicians based on the amount of uptime they’re giving our clients. The result — fewer disruptions, fewer service calls, and your printers start shedding their reputation of being constant sources of frustration.
Questions Manufacturers Should Ask Potential Print Providers
If your provider has a SOC II Type II report for their managed print services, that tells you that an independent auditor has verified they’re consistently following best practices. So I’d always recommend asking your provider if they’ve taken that step.
In addition, if I were an operations manager at a manufacturing or warehouse facility, here’s what I’d be asking:
- How many manufacturing clients do you currently serve?
- Can you provide references from manufacturers with similar print volumes?
- Can your software integrate with my MES and ERP systems?
- Can you support mobile printing for warehouse and production floor staff?
- Can you support printers regardless of manufacturer, including industrial printers?
- What print security do you provide?
- Can you help me with compliance documentation?
- What are your guaranteed response times?
- What happens if you’re not meeting your SLA commitments?
The Best Managed Print Services for Manufacturing and Warehousing Businesses
Before signing any contract, request a comprehensive print assessment. A quality provider will analyze your current costs, identify inefficiencies, and demonstrate exactly how their services will improve your operation. They should be able to show you potential savings and explain how their security measures will protect your business.
A print assessment can give you an enormous amount of clarity about how you can save, but it can also give you a sneak preview of how your print provider will partner with you. The right partnership will transform printing from a source of frustration into a competitive advantage, giving your team more time to focus on what they do best: making great products efficiently and profitably.
Curious how our print team would answer any of the questions I outlined above? Reach out through the link below to request a print assessment.
