What is a Photocopier/Office Printer Service Level Agreement and how does it work?

South African businesses have an estimated 300 000+ photocopiers and printers on Service Level Agreements also known as SLA's, - but what is a "Photocopier SLA" do you need one and how does it help your business?

A printer or photocopier service level agreement also known as a "SLA" is a contract signed between your Photocopier or Managed Print Solution supplier and your business. Typically, one SLA is signed per device, the SLA encompasses the ongoing service of your Printer or Photocopier, usually including all on site and remote technical calls, preventative maintenance and the delivery of Toner and Drum consumables to be used with the machine. .  

View an example of a Photocopier/Office Printer Service Level Agreement below

Who should consider a Photocopier/Printer SLA?

Anytime you purchase a commercial photocopier or office printer your business should seriously consider taking out an SLA. In terms of volume, photocopier Service Level Agreements (SLA's) suit organisations who typically print more than 2000 pages per month or approximately one box of paper per month (One box = 2500 pages per month) or 4 reams of paper (One ream = 500 pages). At this level using a consumer printer purchased from a local retailer becomes expensive to maintain and run, with running costs approaching 2 to 10 times those of a commercial MFP (Multi Function Printer). Organisations that use a photocopier service provider typically print more documents and need these maintained by a professional company on an SLA. They can then focus on their business and not on maintaining their office printers. 

What is included with an Printer Service Level Agreement SLA?

• Onsite Technical Call Outs - Professionally trained technicians visit you site to service the device
• Remote Technical Support - Quick remote support for easy to fix issues. 
• Toner and Imaging Drums - Note - Certain Miscellaneous parts are excluded from SLA agreements and are chargeable if required.

How much does a Managed Print/Photocopier SLA Cost?

SLA's in almost all cases work on a Cost per copy/Click (CPC) or pay per print structure, these are are the same thing, what they mean is that your business will pay an agreed price per page printed. If you print 5 000 pages and your CPC price is 10 cents you will pay R 500.00 for your SLA agreement, this will then include all of your supplies and maintenance on the device.   

Most SLA's cost between 8c and 18 Cents per page for Mono (Black & White) Prints and 50c and R1.20 per page for colour prints. Many reputable Copier maintenance providers will also charge you a minimum billing, this ensures that they can maintain a minimum level of service and standby technicians to offer an acceptable service. 

Finally to assist most of our prospective clients we also offer them a handy Guide on how to assess their prospective Photocopier quote and its associated Service Level Agreement. To request a copy of the guide please reach out to our Solutions team below and they will be happy to assist.