PRINTADA! PROFILE
Simple but effective Printada!’s back-to-basics approach for managed print services is gaining in popularity, especially among small- to medium-sized businesses, and gives resellers the chance to make money in a traditionally low-margin part of the sector.
CONTINUED website, it’s easy to go; ‘okay, I’m looking for a colour laser MFP. I probably don’t print 5,000 pages per month, but I know I print more than 1,000. Okay, I’ll go for the 2,500.’ “It is the same for dealers. When it comes to selling it, they can just walk in, have an idea what volume the customer might be printing, and just offer them the subscription then without having to go away and do lots of calculations.” Paul adds that there is another element to the agreement, which he Simple solution Thus Printada! was born, and the concept is very simple. “It is a solution aimed at SMEs including organisations such as charities and churches – basically any organisation with between one and 25 A4 devices,” says Paul. “At the moment customers who have A4 devices are quite limited in the way that they can buy the printers and pay for the cartridges; often they buy the printer outright and then shop around and buy the cartridges. Sometimes they get a good price, sometimes they don’t. We have created a programme that allows a small business operator to procure their print in a more similar way to how a larger enterprise does. This means they can have a fixed price rental subscription for three years and included in the subscription is the printer or MFP plus enough cartridges and consumables – everything that’s required to do a certain number of pages per month, which is set out in the agreement. “Everything is covered under our warranty and maintenance programme as well. If there’s any problems with the printer, we’ll fix it, or, if it cannot be fixed, we’ll replace it.” In keeping with the simple ethos of Printada!, there is a limited range of packages available. “There’s four printers and three different page volumes on offer,” he says. “There are 12 deals, including a mono laser printer and MFP, and a colour laser printer and MFP. Then there are three page ranges: up to 1,000 pages a month, up to 2,500 pages a month, and 5,000 pages a month. “If an end user customer comes to the
Printada! might be a new name to the sector, but it is an embodiment of the phrase ‘good things come to those who wait’ as the idea behind it was first thought of some 17 years ago by the company’s general manager, and industry veteran, Paul Callow. Back in 2006, when Paul worked for a major printer manufacturer, he spotted a niche for providing managed print solutions specifically to small businesses. While the company liked the idea, at the time it didn’t get off the ground, for a variety of reasons – not least that it requires a coalition between a vendor and a distributor for it to work. However, Paul retained the belief that such a solution could work, it just needed the right company at the right time. And so, when he came to work for Data Direct, in discussions with the directors of the company last year the idea came up and they also saw the opportunity, but also, crucially, the chance to bring all the necessary parties together to make it happen. “We started working on it and it came together very quickly,” recalls Paul. “I oversaw the project and together with the team at Data Direct we were able to execute the vision and bring it all together.”
Paul Callow general manager Printada!
printada.co.uk
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We have
created a programme that allows a small business operator to procure their print in a more similar way to how a larger enterprise does.
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