Managed print services (MPS) can cut your organization's printing costs by 20–30%, but only if you know whether you're actually saving money. Without a clear ROI calculation, you'll struggle to justify the investment to finance teams or track whether your provider is delivering value.
This guide walks you through the numbers—what to measure, where savings hide, and how to compare MPS proposals side by side.
What Costs to Track Before MPS
Start by establishing your current printing baseline. You can't calculate ROI without knowing what you're spending now.
Direct costs to measure:
- Toner and ink cartridge purchases (check invoices from the last 12 months)
- Printer maintenance and repair calls (average cost per incident and annual total)
- Hardware costs (printer purchases, replacement units, depreciation)
- IT time spent managing printers and troubleshooting (estimate hours per month × loaded labor cost)
- Paper, supplies, and delivery fees
Indirect costs to add:
- Downtime when printers fail (calculate business impact, not just repair cost)
- Employee time wasted on jam-clearing, driver updates, or print queue issues
- Energy consumption (typically 3–5% of total printing spend for large fleets)
- Software licensing for print management tools you're running in-house
Total these across your organization. For a mid-sized business with 50–100 employees, this often ranges from $15,000–$40,000 annually.
Understanding MPS Pricing Models
Managed print providers typically structure costs in one of three ways. Know which you're comparing.
Cost-per-page (CPP) model: You pay a fixed rate per printed page—usually $0.02–$0.08 for black & white, $0.08–$0.20 for color. This includes supplies, maintenance, and hardware replacement. It's the most transparent and works well for stable printing volumes.
Flat monthly fee: A set price regardless of volume. Common for organizations with predictable, moderate printing. Useful if you want budget certainty, but watch for volume overages (typically $0.01–$0.02 per extra page).
Hybrid model: Monthly base fee plus per-page overage charges. Often used when providers want to ensure baseline revenue while incentivizing volume reduction.
Ask your provider for their last 12 months of page counts so you can calculate your actual monthly cost under each model.
The ROI Calculation
ROI = (Savings − MPS Cost) ÷ Current Printing Cost × 100%
Example: Your current annual print spend is $30,000. An MPS provider quotes $18,000 annually (including hardware, toner, maintenance, and IT support). Savings = $30,000 − $18,000 = $12,000.
ROI = ($12,000 ÷ $30,000) × 100% = 40% return in year one.
But don't stop there. Include the value of freed IT time. If moving to MPS saves your IT team 10 hours per month on printer management (120 hours annually), and your IT labor costs $75/hour loaded, that's another $9,000 in indirect savings. Your true ROI jumps to 70%.
Key Metrics to Demand from MPS Proposals
When evaluating providers, insist they deliver specific numbers in writing:
- Projected monthly page volume based on your current usage
- Total cost of ownership for the contract period (typically 3–5 years)
- Hardware refresh schedule and what's included
- Energy savings estimates (many modern MPS fleets use 30–40% less power than older equipment)
- Baseline IT time reduction (hours per month they expect to save you)
- Average turnaround time for maintenance calls (2–4 hours for on-site service is standard)
Push back if they won't quantify these. Vague promises of "significant savings" aren't actionable.
When to Expect Breakeven
Most organizations see positive ROI within 6–12 months of switching to MPS. Hardware refresh happens immediately (you inherit new equipment), so cost-per-page typically drops right away. IT overhead reduction accelerates over months two and three as your team stops managing print infrastructure.
If a proposal doesn't show breakeven by month 12, recalculate your baseline or shop elsewhere.
Comparing Proposals Side by Side
Create a spreadsheet with your current costs in column A. List each proposal in subsequent columns with identical line items: toner, maintenance, hardware, IT support, etc. This reveals which provider is actually saving you money—and where.
If your organization is evaluating multiple providers, tools like Mercoly help you compare managed print and device services offers from trusted vendors in one place, saving research time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I calculate the value of IT time saved by MPS? Multiply hours saved per month by your IT team's fully loaded hourly rate (salary + benefits + overhead, typically 1.3–1.5x base wage). Include administrative time, driver updates, and troubleshooting—these hours add up fast.
Q: What page volume threshold makes MPS worthwhile? Most providers profitably serve organizations printing 2,000+ pages per month. Below that, the hardware and support costs may not deliver savings versus buying cartridges on demand.
Q: Should I factor in print volume reduction into ROI calculations? Yes—many MPS engagements reduce printing 15–25% through visibility and employee behavior change. Use your provider's historical data from similar clients to project realistic reduction, then apply it conservatively.
Start comparing MPS providers today with real cost data in hand—Mercoly makes it easy to find and evaluate vetted options for your organization.