Managed print services across the M25 are often sold as if every business sits in a Central London tower, but most don’t. Firms in Croydon, Kingston, Watford, Uxbridge, Romford, Dartford or Woking have different buildings, different fleets and different problems: a head office with branches, a business park unit with a warehouse attached, or a professional practice that has quietly accumulated a dozen desktop printers.

If you already use a managed print service (MPS), you should be benefiting from lower costs, less hassle and better security. But the term covers everything from a simple toner-and-service contract to full management of every printer across several sites, and knowing the difference between real savings and a more expensive version of what you already have is the key to making an agreement work for you.

This guide is for businesses in outer London and the towns around the M25 that either have a managed print service or are considering one. It explains what an MPS should include, how it is priced, what changes when your sites are spread out, and what to ask any provider, including us. If your office is in the City, Canary Wharf or the West End, our guide to managed print in Central London covers the specifics there.

What is a managed print service?

A managed print service hands the day-to-day running of your printers to a specialist, like Scriptum. Instead of buying machines, ordering toner, chasing engineers and paying separate invoices, you get:

• The right printers in the right places, often fewer of them, based on how each site actually prints
• An outsourced helpdesk, taking the pressure off your IT team, with printer experts who resolve issues fast and often remotely
• One consolidated invoice, with every device at every site itemised
• Automatic toner and consumable supply, triggered by the printer itself and delivered to the right site
• Service and repairs included, with parts, labour and engineer visits covered
• Remote monitoring, so faults and low supplies are flagged before staff notice
• Security and access controls, such as secure print release and user authentication
• Usage reporting by site, department or user

Signs your business would benefit

If three or more of these sound familiar, a review is worthwhile. You could start with our free print audit.

How print looks different outside Central London

If your business has more than one site, the biggest wins usually come from standardising on fewer models, putting every device on one agreement and finally seeing what print actually costs across the business.

What to plan for when sites are spread out

• Engineer reach. Ask where the engineers are based and how they cover your postcodes. A provider whose engineers already work across London and the M25 every day is better placed than one dispatching from much further afield.
• Remote first. Remote monitoring and remote diagnostics matter more when sites are spread out. Many faults, settings changes and driver issues can be fixed without anyone travelling.
• Consumables to the right door. Toner should go automatically to the site that needs it, not to head office for someone to forward.
• Standard models across sites. Using the same one or two models everywhere means staff know how to use any machine, and toner and parts are interchangeable.
• Scanning between sites. Branch teams often scan more than they print. Scan-to-email, scan-to-folder and scanning into Microsoft 365 or SharePoint should work the same way at every site.
• Hybrid volumes. Many offices now print far less than they did. Size each site’s machine for today’s volumes, not the volumes in an old contract.

How managed print is priced

Most MPS agreements combine some or all of these elements:

1. Equipment, either leased, rented or bought outright. Our guide to A3 photocopier rental and leasing explains the difference and the contract clauses to check.
2. A cost per page for mono and colour, covering toner, parts, labour and monitoring.
3. Software, for secure print release, scanning workflows or reporting, sometimes as a separate licence.
4. Minimum volumes, in some agreements, which set a floor on what you pay each month.
5. Account management: a good supplier will give you ongoing performance data, by site.

Indicatively, at the time of writing, UK cost-per-page rates for A3 office MFPs under a managed agreement typically fall around 0.35p-1p for mono and 3.5p-8p for colour, depending on volumes, machine and contract length, and whether it includes the hardware cost. Desktop printers bought on a card are often far more expensive per page than either figure once toner is counted.

What is usually not included?

Paper, staples and insurance are typically excluded. Check also whether moving machines between sites, adding a new branch and end-of-term collection are covered.

Security for smaller sites

Branch offices and small practices are often where print security slips: a shared printer by the door, documents left on the tray, no record of what was scanned or where it went. A managed service should include:

• Secure “pull” printing, so jobs only print when the user authenticates at the device
• User authentication and audit trails across every site
• Encrypted storage and secure data wipe when machines are replaced
• Firmware updates kept current by the provider, not left to each branch

Modern Konica Minolta bizhub and Xerox AltaLink machines include strong security features, but they need to be set up properly and consistently across sites. Our industry guides for accountancy firms, law firms and estate agents go into the specific requirements.

Questions to ask any managed print provider

• Where are your engineers based, and do they cover all of our sites? Are they your own employees or subcontractors?
• What can you fix remotely, and what happens when a fault is reported?
• How is toner supplied to each site?
• Can we have one agreement and one invoice across every site, with pooled volumes?
• What happens when we open, close or move a site?
• How and when can prices increase?
• What reporting will we get by site, and how often will you review it with us?

How Scriptum supports businesses across London and the M25

Scriptum is based at Canary Wharf with its own engineering team in London, working out from Central London to cover the M25 region, and we support customers across the UK. We supply and manage Konica Minolta and Xerox multifunction printers, from the compact Konica Minolta bizhub C268i for a small branch to high-volume machines for head offices. Every machine we manage is monitored remotely, toner is sent automatically, and you have a UK helpdesk to call.

Typical problems we are asked to solve

“Every branch has a different printer and a different contract.” We map every device, measure real usage and recommend the right size device for each location, standardised where possible, on a single agreement with one invoice.

“Our small offices are full of desktop printers.” One well-placed A3 multifunction printer per site usually prints, copies and scans more cheaply and more securely than a desk full of inkjets and lasers.

“Our last supplier took days to reach our site.” Our engineers are based in London and work across the M25 region, and remote monitoring means many issues are spotted and fixed before anyone needs to travel.

Start with the numbers: a free print audit

The only way to know if managed print will save you money is to measure what you print and what you pay now. Our free print audit monitors your existing printers remotely for 30 days, at every site, and reviews your invoices, consumables and leases. You get a like-for-like comparison, and there is no obligation to change anything.

Managed print checklist for multi-site and outer London businesses

• Every device at every site listed, with real volumes and costs
• Engineer coverage confirmed for all your postcodes
• One agreement and one invoice, with pooled volumes if possible
• Mono and colour cost per page, minimums and increase terms stated
• Toner delivered automatically to each site
• Security set-up consistent across sites
• Terms for adding, moving or closing a site understood

FAQs

Do you provide managed print services outside Central London?

Yes. Our London engineering team works out from Central London across the M25 region, covering outer London and the surrounding towns. Beyond that, we support customers across the UK through our relationship with our manufacturer partners. The agreement, account management and invoicing are handled by us, so you only have one point of contact.

Can you manage printers at several sites on one contract?

Yes. We can bring every site onto one agreement with one invoice, standardise the fleet and report usage by site.

What does managed print cost?

Most agreements are priced per page printed, plus equipment finance or rental. As an indication, mono pages often fall around 0.35p-1p and colour around 3.5p-8p, but the right comparison is against what you pay now.

Is managed print worth it for a small office?

It can be, particularly if you have several desktop printers or an old contract. For a small office, a single well-chosen A3 multifunction printer on a simple agreement is often all that is needed.

Does managed print include toner?

Yes. Toner is normally included in the cost per page and sent automatically to the site that needs it.

How long does it take to switch provider?

It depends on your current contracts and the number of devices and sites. A small installation could be delivered in just a few days. The first step is understanding when existing agreements end and what notice they require, which the print audit covers.

Talk to Scriptum about managed print across London and the M25

Tell us where your sites are, roughly how many people work at each and what you use now. Call 0800 011 2858, email interface@scriptumds.co.uk, or use the form below to arrange your free print audit.

Cost-per-page figures are indicative UK market ranges at the time of writing (October 2026) and exclude VAT.