Managed Print Services (MPS) has been declared “dead” more times than most MSPs can count. Yet in reality, print is still embedded in day‑to‑day operations across SMBs, education, healthcare, and distributed offices. The problem isn’t demand—it’s how MPS is delivered, priced, and supported.
For many MSPs, print has become a friction point. It feels operationally messy, margin‑thin, and disconnected from modern managed services. As a result, some MSPs ignore it altogether, while others inherit it reluctantly after winning a network or security deal.
That’s a missed opportunity.
When structured correctly, Managed Print Services can be a profitable, sticky, and highly defensible revenue stream—one that complements core MSP offerings rather than competing with them. The key is treating MPS as a managed service, not a legacy copier program.
This guide breaks down how MSPs, IT resellers, and office technology dealers can rethink MPS for profitability, scalability, and long‑term customer value.
What has changed is customer tolerance for downtime and complexity. End users no longer care about copier specs or toner models. They care about one thing:
“Does it work when I need it to?”
This expectation aligns perfectly with the MSP model—provided print is integrated correctly.
Many MSPs struggle with MPS because they’ve inherited copier‑centric approaches that don’t align with how MSPs operate.
In short, traditional MPS creates operational drag, not leverage.
To make MPS profitable, MSPs need to simplify, standardize, and align print with their existing service delivery model.
Instead of treating print as:
Successful MSPs position MPS as:
This reframing changes how MPS is sold, deployed, and supported.
When print behaves like other managed endpoints, it becomes easier to scale—and easier to defend.
Contrary to common belief, profitable MPS isn’t about squeezing margin from hardware. It’s about controlling the variables.
The fastest way to kill MPS profitability is supporting too many device types.
High‑performing partners:
This lowers service costs and improves first‑call resolution—two major margin drivers.
Using compatible, distributor‑supported supplies allows MSPs to:
When supplies are treated as part of the managed service—not a resale item—profitability improves.
Manual meter reads, reactive toner calls, and “it’s printing weird” tickets are margin killers.
Profitable MPS programs rely on:
The less time technicians spend touching print issues, the more scalable the service becomes.
The solution is simpler packaging, not deeper technical detail.
Instead of selling:
“This printer with this toner at this CPP…”
Sell:
“We manage your print environment the same way we manage your network—no surprises, no downtime, no finger‑pointing.”
This aligns MPS with how MSPs already sell managed services.
For many partners, MPS works best as:
An MSP competes for an SMB account already locked into another IT provider—but frustrated with printer downtime and supply issues:
By offering:
The MSP gains:
Print becomes the entry point, not the end goal.
Internal resistance often kills MPS initiatives. Technicians don’t want more tickets, and service managers fear unpredictable workloads.
Successful MSPs address this upfront by:
For MSPs and resellers, the right distributor can make or break an MPS program.
A strong distribution partner helps by:
This creates:
Print becomes part of the ecosystem, not an orphaned service.
Even well‑intentioned MSPs fall into traps, including:
Avoiding these mistakes is often more impactful than adding new tools.
Managed Print Services isn’t disappearing—it’s converging.
As MSPs continue to own the endpoint experience, print will increasingly be:
Partners that approach MPS strategically will gain:
Those that ignore it risk leaving money—and influence—on the table.
The question isn’t whether MSPs should offer Managed Print Services. The real question is:
Can you afford not to?
When designed for simplicity, supported by the right partners, and aligned with managed IT principles, MPS becomes a profitable, scalable service—not a distraction.
For many MSPs and IT resellers, the challenge with Managed Print Services isn’t demand—it’s execution. Image Star helps bridge that gap by supporting simplified, channel‑friendly MPS strategies that align with how MSPs actually operate.
Image Star works with partners to:
Rather than pushing complexity, Image Star focuses on practical enablement—helping partners build MPS offerings that are easier to sell, easier to support, and easier to scale.
For MSPs, IT resellers, and office technology dealers looking to turn Managed Print Services into a profitable, defensible part of their portfolio, Image Star provides the tools and channel expertise to make MPS work—on your terms.