Most print assessments follow a familiar pattern. Devices are mapped. Meter reads are collected. Contracts are reviewed. A proposal is built around right-sizing the fleet and improving cost per page.
There’s nothing wrong with that approach. But it’s not enough to differentiate you from other dealers.
The real value of a print assessment is not in counting pages. It is in uncovering what the data does not immediately show. The quality of the outcome depends on the quality of the questions asked along the way.
If you want to move the conversation beyond hardware and into a long-term partnership, these questions should guide every assessment.
1. What Triggered the Assessment?
Before reviewing a single meter read, clarify why you’re there. Too often, dealers assume the customer’s primary goal is cost reduction. Sometimes it is. Often, it’s not. Ask:
- What prompted this assessment right now?
- Who initiated it?
- Is this coming from finance, IT, operations, or executive leadership?
- Has another dealer recently reviewed the fleet?
- Is there dissatisfaction with service, billing, or device reliability?
A finance-driven initiative will focus on predictability and transparency. An IT-driven initiative will center on security and workload. An operations-led review may be about workflow delays or departmental bottlenecks.
If you don’t understand the driver, your proposal risks solving the wrong problem.
2. Where Is Print Creating Strain for IT?
In many organizations, print quietly becomes an IT burden. Tickets accumulate. Firmware updates fall behind. Devices sit on the network with inconsistent configurations.
Ask:
- How often does IT handle print-related support requests?
- Are devices included in patch management policies?
- Are printers segmented on the network?
- Who owns firmware updates and configuration standards?
- Are print servers stable, or frequently causing issues?
Listen carefully to how IT describes the environment. If they use words like “legacy,” “unpredictable,” or “time-consuming,” that is more revealing than any usage report.
When IT sees print as unstable or unmanaged, you have an opportunity to reposition the conversation around Managed Services, proactive monitoring, and standardized configurations.
Print should not compete with core IT initiatives for attention. If it does, there is work to be done.
3. What Is the Fleet Data Actually Saying?
Meter reads quantify volume, but they don’t explain user behavior. Take a look beyond total volume and examine patterns:
- Which departments have unusually high color usage?
- Are small A4 devices handling production-level output?
- Are high-capacity A3 devices underutilized?
- Are there clusters of single-function printers outside the service agreement?
- Are certain locations driving a disproportionate number of service calls?
Outliers are rarely random. They usually point to one of three things: improper placement, workflow inefficiencies, or a lack of visibility.
For example, an HR department printing large onboarding packets may signal a paper-heavy hiring process. A marketing department overusing color may indicate a need for policy adjustments or upgraded production equipment.
4. Where Are the Security Gaps?
Most organizations understand that printers sit on the network. However, fewer can confirm that every device is configured to the same security standard.
Assessments should examine configuration drift, administrative access, and policy compliance across the fleet.
Ask:
- Is secure print release mandatory or optional?
- Are default administrative credentials still active?
- Is hard drive encryption enabled?
- Are audit logs reviewed?
- Is there a documented device sanitization process at lease end?
- Who has administrative access to the fleet?
You may find that security settings are available but not enforced. Features are often enabled at installation and then gradually relaxed for convenience.
Security conversations change the tone of an assessment. They move it from cost optimization to risk management.
That shift alone can elevate your position from vendor to advisor.
5. Which Workflows Still Depend on Paper?
Hardware discussions are comfortable. Workflow discussions require deeper discovery.
Ask:
- What processes still require printed documents?
- How are invoices approved?
- How are HR files routed and stored?
- Are employees scanning to email as a workaround?
- Is data manually re-entered into business systems?
Scanning to email, for example, is often treated as a digital solution. In reality, it may be masking a lack of structured document management.
Manual routing of forms can delay approvals. Duplicate data entry increases the chance of error.
When you uncover paper-dependent workflows, you uncover opportunities for document management software, automated routing, and system integration.
The assessment becomes less about hardware and more about process improvement.
6. What Is Happening Inside the Contracts?
Fleet optimization is incomplete without contract clarity.
Ask:
- Are leases staggered across multiple timelines?
- Are multiple vendors involved?
- Are overage charges common?
- Are auto-renewal clauses approaching?
- Are some devices owned, while others are leased?
- Is there flexibility for mid-term refreshes?
Contract sprawl is common, especially in organizations that have grown through acquisition or decentralized purchasing.
A clear map of contract timelines allows you to build a phased consolidation strategy. Without that visibility, proposals become reactive and tied to isolated expirations.
The ability to align fleet strategy with contract structure is often where takeover opportunities emerge.
7. How Has Hybrid Work Changed Print Behavior?
Hybrid work has not simply reduced print volume. It has changed where, how, and on what devices documents are produced.
Ask:
- Are remote employees printing sensitive documents at home?
- Are branch offices independently purchasing devices?
- Has device placement been reevaluated since workforce changes?
- Is mobile printing secure and controlled?
- Are supply purchases centralized or decentralized?
In hybrid environments, unmanaged devices tend to multiply. Small desktop printers appear in satellite offices. Supplies are ordered outside negotiated agreements.
The print environment may look leaner on paper, yet more complex in practice.
An updated placement strategy can eliminate redundancy while maintaining accessibility.
8. What Is the Client Not Tracking?
Cost per page tells one story. Productivity, reliability, and user experience reveal another.
Ask:
- Do they know the cost per user, not just the cost per page?
- Can they identify which departments drive service calls?
- Are they tracking downtime?
- Do they understand the energy consumption differences between older and newer models?
- Are firmware lifecycle timelines documented?
Visibility gaps are powerful entry points.
When you introduce metrics they haven’t thought of, you demonstrate a broader perspective. Education builds authority, and that authority builds trust.
9. What Did the Last Dealer Overlook?
Most prospects have undergone at least one assessment in the past. Differentiation rarely comes from repeating the same process.
Ask yourself:
- Was IT interviewed directly?
- Were department heads consulted?
- Were security configurations reviewed?
- Was workflow analyzed beyond page counts?
- Were recommendations tied to business objectives?
You may discover that previous reviews focused solely on fleet consolidation without addressing workflow friction or security posture.
By expanding the scope of discovery, you create contrast without criticizing competitors directly.
The depth of your questions becomes your differentiator.
10. What Does the Next 24 to 36 Months Look Like?
An assessment anchored only in current data risks becoming obsolete quickly.
Ask:
- Is growth planned?
- Are facilities being consolidated?
- Is an ERP or EMR migration on the horizon?
- Is digitization a formal initiative?
- Are regulatory requirements expected to tighten?
Future planning changes device recommendations, placement strategy, and contract structure.
A growing organization may require scalable agreements. A consolidating one may need flexible refresh options.
When recommendations anticipate change, they reduce churn and strengthen long-term positioning.
Turning Discovery Into Revenue Strategy
Each category of questions connects to specific opportunities.
- Fleet imbalances support right-sizing and refresh initiatives.
- Security gaps lead to authentication solutions and print management software.
- IT strain opens the door to Managed Print Services.
- Manual workflows point toward document management and automation.
- Contract complexity enables consolidation planning.
The assessment shifts from a simple refresh conversation to a structured growth strategy. When that happens, your proposal is evaluated on impact, not just price.
The Conversation You Control
A print assessment is ultimately a conversation.
If the discussion stays at cost per page, you compete on price.
If it moves toward security, workflow, and long-term planning, you compete on insight.
The difference is not in the tools you use. It is in the questions you ask.
Meter data will always matter. Placement strategy will always matter. Contract terms will always matter.
But the dealers who win consistently are the ones who dig deeper. They challenge assumptions. They interview beyond procurement. They connect fleet data to operational impact.
The way you conduct the assessment shapes how the client evaluates their print environment. Once the conversation shifts, the decision moves beyond replacing devices and toward selecting a partner. That shift begins with better questions.
About ISI
Impression Solutions Inc. is a value-add, full-service distributor of printing and imaging solutions. ISI offers their dealers, resellers and their end users unparalleled service and support as an OEM full line authorized distributor of Kyocera monochrome and color printers, MFPs, Wide Format Printers, printer accessories, printer supplies and customized printing solutions.
Recent launches include Virtual Inventory Services and IS Docs, a turnkey Document Management program for Imaging Dealers to grow their monthly recurring revenues (MRR).
ISI maintains a full inventory of over 2,200 SKUs of printer products ready for same-day shipment from their 35,000 square feet of warehousing space in 5 distribution centers from coast to coast.
