PCWB claims PrintPay will bring costs down

Programme from reseller arm of Dixons Group puts fixed monthly fee on document printing

PC World Business (PCWB) has launched what it describes as a new way for businesses to control their document printing costs.

The reseller arm of Dixons Group last week unveiled PrintPay, a scheme that covers all printing needs, including service and toner costs for the life of a contract. End-users pay a fixed monthly fee.

David Gould, trading director at PCWB, said: “Most firms find it difficult to manage their print costs because document printing has numerous hidden costs that businesses cannot control. The idea of paying a monthly fee is common in the copier channel, so we thought why not offer a similar contract for printers?

“PrintPay is a way to manage the total cost of ownership by offering subscribers up to £5,000 worth of print hardware upfront, without an initial down-payment. The monthly fee includes maintenance, toner, parts, service and a three-year warranty. The hardware customers get what is appropriate for the level of printing they will do, and the only variation on the fixed monthly fee is if the customer significantly over-prints or under-prints.”

PCWB has launched PrintPay with Kyocera, but said it “is in conversations with other print vendors”.

Peter Lunn, Kyocera’s reseller sales manager, claimed: “The reason PCWB chose Kyocera to work with on PrintPay is because the running costs on our machines are 40 to 50 per cent lower than other print vendors. This is because the technology in our machines result in only the toner having to be replaced. Therefore, our cost per page is cheaper than our rivals.

“With PrintPay, PCWB offers a different proposition. Instead of customers having a capital outlay, they get a new printer for three years, and maintenance is covered. All they have to pay for is the paper.”

Essex-based Select Window and Door Systems is already using PrintPay. “It is a good package for a medium-sized firm such as ours,” said Adrian Brittain, Select’s IT manager.

“It has saved us quite a bit of money. The maintenance is taken care of, and it saves us time because we don’t have to order any toner.”