By Paul Giorgi, Customer Success Manager, Print Audit
Not many people know this about me but I’m a bit of a certified car nut. Since I was 15 I have owned 100’s of cars, everything from Jaguars to Chevy’s to Volkswagen’s. Through my myriad of cars I have become rather handy in repairing cars. I have acquired many tools that not only help me repair cars but also diagnose issues. My favorite diagnostic tool is the OBD (On Board Diagnostic) reader. It makes it so much easier to diagnose and address issues!
How did the OBD enter this world? In the 1990’s the US implemented the Clean Air Act, which essentially spawned the OBD system and OBD port. A good number of fault codes were standardized by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) to make it easier for mechanics to troubleshoot and fix issues. For a mechanic, scanning a car’s data is a great way to get to the bottom of any issue regardless of make or model.
Since my time at Print Audit, I have come to understand that there is not a similar standardization of fault codes or behavior from devices. When it comes to monitoring devices over SNMP, it’s a hodge podge of manufacturer knows best. This goes beyond fault codes. Did you know that there is a massive inconsistency in how devices report toner levels, or that only 5 manufacturers report additional supplies in their MIB data? Even the way some manufacturers count paper is not consistent. This is not just across manufacturers. With some manufacturers, the way a device reports information can drastically change with a firmware version.
15% of an office equipment dealers MIF does not have sufficient enough reporting to support automatic supplies and service delivery. This shows me that nobody is looking at the device but everybody should be. Did you know some devices will randomly remove blank pages from their counters? I could tell you that manufacturers like Xerox, Samsung and HP have some of the best supply reporting in the industry. I could also tell you that the average age of an office equipment dealers MIF averages 4 years in age. But it’s better for me to show you:
At Print Audit, we have devised an MPS certification for print enabled devices. This helps dealers and their customers to navigate through the unknowns of printers and MFP’s so everybody can have a better and more cost effective experience. The certification report will help you to easily identify how well a device reports toner levels and other important information. The report even gives you a reason why you may want to replace some older or poorly reporting devices with others. If a device can’t support auto toner fulfillment in 2016 there are plenty of new ones that do.
Many of our Premier Members are using our MPS certification reports to win more deals, refresh more fleets and secure existing business against their competition. After all, it is essential for any MPS provider to understand how a device behaves before they can manage it. A device certification program should be part of the assessment before any contract is signed. With Print Audit Premier and the MPS certification report, we make this a very easy process.
Want to know more about how you can get MPS certification reports working for you? Visit www.mpscertified.com. You can also contact us at Print Audit by visiting
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