Find the best Print Management Software

Despite most businesses moving toward replacing hard copies with digital documents, the amount of printed documents required in daily business operations remains difficult to manage.

Most small to midsize businesses (SMBs) that use multiple printing devices struggle with keeping printing costs down, while simultaneously ensuring that printed documents are produced efficiently and securely.

With print management software, businesses can easily manage their organization’s entire printer population so that print jobs can be distributed across multiple devices while also limiting unnecessary output.

This guide will help you understand what print management software is and analyze the various factors that must be considered when choosing a print management software solution for your organization.

Here’s what we'll cover:

• What is print management software?

• Common features of print management software

• What type of buyer are you?

• Benefits of print management software

• Key considerations for purchasing print management software

• Market trends to understand

What is print management software?

Print management software centralizes the management of an organization's printer fleet by allowing administrators to monitor printer status, distributing print jobs to multiple available devices, and making devices available for remote or mobile printing. Furthermore, print management software helps reduce overall printing costs by tracking printer usage, setting limits or quotas on the number of prints, and allocating print costs to individual employees or departments.

Common features of print management software

While features vary from product to product, print management software typically offers some or all of the following functionality:

What type of buyer are you?

• Businesses with multiple printing devices: A company’s printing needs will vary based on their line of business. Companies that distribute materials internally and externally generally have multiple printing devices across various offices. By using print management software, these companies can optimize their printing hardware to balance printing queues so employees can send print jobs to devices based on availability or physical location. Furthermore, the cost per print can vary depending on the device and consumable cost. Print management software gives such businesses the flexibility to send larger jobs to devices with lower printing costs.

• Companies that produce sensitive material: Print management software allows users to send sensitive print jobs to a desired printer where it will be held until the employee physically enters a code on the device before the hard copy is actually produced. In doing so, companies that produce sensitive or proprietary information can rest assured that confidential documents remain secure.

Benefits of print management software

• Reduce overall printing costs: In addition to paper costs, the costs for hard copy printing can vary greatly from one device to another. Factors such as device consumables, maintenance, and the hardware investment for the actual device come into play. Print management software gives companies the ability to limit printing on a user or departmental level and to use lower cost devices for either large print runs or hard copies that can be printed at a lower level of quality for internal use.

• Increase workplace efficiency: Print management software gives companies the power to distribute print jobs to available devices so that users don’t have to wait for a previous print job at their preferred device to be completed. Instead, the software routes the job to another printer for more timely output. Additionally, print management software also makes it more efficient for internal IT staff to monitor supply levels of a printer fleet and proactively reorder toner or other consumables.

Key considerations for purchasing print management software

As with any new software adoption, consider the following points before purchasing print management software:

• Pricing models: Print management software can be priced in a variety of ways and careful consideration should be taken before purchasing. For example, some print management software can be purchased for an annual licensing fee per device or business, while others may be based on a per print fee.

• Availability through printer fleet vendor: Due to the high level of maintenance required to keep printers up and running, many printing devices are procured through local vendors that also offer maintenance contracts that bundle repairs with consumables. These vendors often provide print management software as part of a larger package.

Market trends to understand

When looking to purchase print management software, awareness of the following market trends can help you choose a solution that grows with your business goals:

• 3D printing: The demand for 3D printing continues to grow, and with it comes the need to manage 3D printing across multiple devices. Considering the costliness of 3D printing technology, the demand for print management software will be even higher as this trend continues.

• Biometric print release: As businesses continually strive to improve security, print management software will move past securing print jobs with a simple code entered at a printer to employing biometric means (such as fingerprint recognition) to validate a user’s identity before releasing the document for printing.

• Focus on sustainability: As companies strive to employ more sustainable practices in their office environment, print management systems will automatically be able to provide information on reductions in printer output and waste that can then be used for ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) scores or even touted on social media platforms.