Office print management and secure print for UAE firms.

Print is still part of the office, and still a risk

Many offices have fewer printed documents than a decade ago, but contracts, delivery notes, invoices and HR letters still come out of a machine somewhere. Print is easy to ignore until it creates a problem: a payslip left in a tray, a scanner that stops sending to email, a toner shortage on the day of a customer visit, or a multifunction device that has not had a firmware update since it was installed. Print management is the tidy-up of all that: knowing what you have, what it costs, who can see output and whether the devices are safe on your network. This guide is practical and brand-neutral, and sits alongside our managed print services page.

Step 1: audit the fleet you actually have

List every printer, multifunction device and scanner, with location, model, age, network connection, who uses it and what it supports. Add the monthly page counts, split between mono and colour if you can read them from the device. Offices often discover duplicates, one-user printers in individual rooms, and old machines kept because nobody wants to decide. Add print devices to the register described in our IT asset management guide, so they are tracked like laptops and servers. The audit usually points to a smaller fleet of better-placed machines.

Step 2: understand where the cost sits

The purchase price of a printer is rarely the main cost over its life. Toner or ink, service visits, paper, electricity and the time staff spend fixing jams and chasing supplies add up. Ask for a clear breakdown of each, and compare options over the whole contract period, not the first invoice. If you are buying new devices, the questions in our hardware procurement checklist apply, including warranty, support terms and what happens at the end of the term. We do not quote prices in guides because they depend on volumes and models, so ask suppliers for itemised proposals.

Step 3: set defaults that reduce waste

The cheapest saving is changing what happens when someone clicks print. Sensible defaults include:

• Double-sided printing as standard.
• Mono by default, with colour for the teams or jobs that need it.
• Hold-and-release, so jobs print only when the person is at the machine.
• Sensible limits or approval for large jobs.

Users can still override defaults when they have a reason. Explain the change in a short note so it is seen as policy, not a fault.

Step 4: protect sensitive output with secure print

Secure print, also called follow-me or pull printing, keeps a job on a server or in the cloud until the sender identifies themselves at a device with a card, PIN or sign-in. This stops confidential pages sitting in a shared tray and removes uncollected jobs automatically. It matters most for HR, finance, legal and management, and for shared floors where several departments use the same machine. It also supports the data-handling rules in your classification scheme. Microsoft offers a cloud print service, Universal Print, and many print vendors have their own solutions. Features and licensing vary, so verify current terms and compatibility with your devices.

Step 5: make scan-to-email and scan-to-folder reliable

Scanning is a frequent source of tickets. Scan-to-email depends on the device being allowed to send mail through your service, and Microsoft 365 has changed how it accepts mail from devices and applications over the years. Older sign-in methods are being retired, so a setup that worked for years can stop without warning. Options include a dedicated mailbox with modern authentication where the device supports it, or a connector configured for your tenant. Scan-to-folder depends on a shared location and credentials, which is a security weak spot if one account has broad access. A better pattern is to send scans to the user's own OneDrive or a controlled SharePoint library, in line with the SharePoint guide. Have your IT provider confirm the current supported method rather than copying an old setup.

Step 6: secure the devices themselves

A networked multifunction machine is a small computer on your network. Treat it like one:

• Change default administrator passwords and keep them in your password manager.
• Apply firmware updates, and include printers in your patching routine.
• Disable services you do not use, such as older protocols and unused remote management.
• Place printers on a suitable network segment and limit who can reach their admin pages.
• Check whether the device stores documents or scan history, and whether storage can be encrypted.

Printers rarely run endpoint protection, so network controls matter. A firewall and sensible segmentation help, as discussed in our multi-site network guide.

Step 7: plan the end of life

Many printers and copiers contain a storage drive that may hold copies of recent jobs and scans. When a lease ends or a unit is replaced, ask the supplier how the drive is wiped or removed, and get the process in writing. Keep a record of the device and its disposal in the asset register. If personal data may be involved, check your obligations under the UAE data protection law, and take advice if unsure; this guide is not legal advice.

Step 8: decide who runs it

Small offices can manage a few printers in house. Larger ones, and multi-site groups, often find that a managed arrangement saves staff time, since supplies, faults and reporting sit with one provider. Whichever route you choose, ask for usage reports by device and department, a clear fault-reporting route and a stated process for supplies. The questions in our AMC contract checklist help you check what is included.

Where to start

Run the fleet audit, switch on double-sided and mono defaults, test the scan-to-email route, and change any default admin passwords. Then decide whether secure print is justified for your sensitive departments. The free IT health check includes network devices, and the managed print service is available if you would rather hand the routine over. Missan Global has supported UAE organisations since 2004 from its head office in Al Majaz, Sharjah.