The print industry is no longer defined by printers alone.
Today’s strongest office technology dealers are evolving into full-service business technology partners—bringing together multifunction printing, managed IT, production printing, document management, VoIP, workflow automation, and client experience strategy under a single connected service model.
This shift is happening because the needs of modern businesses have changed. Organizations no longer want disconnected vendors managing separate pieces of their operations. They want one trusted partner who understands how their print environment, cybersecurity, phone systems, document workflows, cloud tools, and client-facing output all work together. Which is why in this industry the future belongs to diversified dealers.
Why Diversification Matters Now
Traditional print volumes have changed, and businesses are asking more from their technology partners. According to Ricoh, print businesses are being shaped by automation, digital printing, changing customer expectations, labor constraints, shorter print runs, and the need for greater operational efficiency. Ricoh also emphasizes that print businesses must reevaluate workflows and strategies to align with a rapidly changing market.
Printing Impressions reports that customers increasingly expect integrated solutions across media, substrates, and channels. In fact, Alliance Insights’ 2025 research found that 93% of providers now serve multiple segments, 94% believe the industry is moving toward multi-segment providers, and 91% say customers expect a one-stop partner for diverse print needs. The same research found that commercial printers expanding into adjacent markets increased revenue by 18.8% and pre-tax profitability by 11.1%.
The 5 Pillars of a Modern Print-IT Dealer
The smartest dealers are not choosing one path. They are building layered capabilities that create a stronger ecosystem for their clients.
At Plus Inc, we see this evolution through five core pillars:
1. MFP and Managed Print
Multifunction printers remain a critical foundation of business operations. They support copying, scanning, printing, document intake, workflows, and daily productivity.
But today’s MFPs are no longer isolated office machines.
They are connected devices that interact with networks, users, data, and security systems. That means modern print environments must be managed with the same care as other business technology infrastructure.
A strong MFP strategy helps businesses control costs, reduce waste, improve uptime, support document workflows, and create a more reliable office environment.
2. Managed IT Services
As print devices have become more connected, the line between print and IT has become much thinner.
Printers, copiers, scanners, and document systems now live on business networks. They interact with email, cloud platforms, access controls, compliance requirements, and cybersecurity policies.
That is why managed IT has become one of the most important diversification pillars for office technology dealers.
Businesses need support for cybersecurity, endpoint protection, backups, disaster recovery, Microsoft 365, remote access, monitoring, and network health. When a print provider also understands IT, clients gain a more unified support experience instead of juggling multiple vendors.
3. Production Print
Production print is another major growth opportunity, especially as businesses look for more control, faster turnaround, and reduced outsourcing costs.
Industry research shows production print is shifting toward shorter runs, greater personalization, faster turnaround, and automation-ready workflows. Printing Impressions notes that inkjet is becoming central to next-generation production workflows because it supports shorter runs, variability, faster changeovers, and data-driven output.
For businesses, this means production print is not just about volume. It is about flexibility.
Organizations can bring more work in-house, create higher-quality materials, improve turnaround time, and reduce dependency on outside vendors.
4. Document Management and Workflow Automation
Document management is where print, IT, and operations truly come together.
Businesses are still losing time to manual approvals, paper-based processes, invoice delays, HR document routing, disconnected folders, and inefficient file storage. Workflow automation solves this by helping organizations capture, route, store, secure, and retrieve information more efficiently.
Ricoh highlights that automation helps streamline workflows, reduce reliance on manual labor, improve control over operations, and support resilience in a changing print environment.
Rochester Software Associates also reports that automation is now one of the industry’s most reliable levers for margin protection, with nearly 80% of print service providers automating at least part of their workflows and more than 70% of printers listing productivity as their top business priority.
This is why document management is no longer optional for forward-thinking organizations. It creates measurable operational value.
5. IP Phone Systems, VoIP, and Unified Communications
Communication systems are part of the same business technology conversation.
Phones, video meetings, messaging, remote work tools, and cloud-based communications now influence how teams collaborate and how clients experience a business.
VoIP and unified communications help businesses simplify communication, support remote teams, reduce outdated infrastructure, and improve responsiveness.
For a dealer, offering communications solutions means becoming a deeper operational partner—not just the company that supports printers.
The Sixth Pillar: NPS and Client Experience
There is one pillar that sits above all the others: client experience.
In the printing industry, NPS most commonly refers to Net Promoter Score, a customer satisfaction metric that measures how likely a client is to recommend a company, product, or service. NPS is based on a single recommendation question and is widely used as a loyalty and satisfaction indicator.
For Plus Inc, NPS is more than a metric. It is a mindset.
It shows up in service response, client communication, implementation support, proactive problem-solving, and the long-term relationships built with businesses across the Upstate.
Diversification only works when service quality keeps up with the complexity of the offering.
That is why the best dealers are not simply adding more products. They are measuring the client experience behind every service they provide.
Why “Everything Under One Roof” Matters
When businesses work with separate vendors for print, IT, phones, workflow, cybersecurity, document management, and production output, things can become fragmented quickly.
That fragmentation creates problems:
- No single point of accountability
- Slower troubleshooting
- Confusing vendor communication
- Gaps between systems
- Higher operational risk
- More internal time spent managing outside providers
A diversified Print-IT partner helps solve this by creating one coordinated ecosystem.
- One team understands the equipment.
- One team understands the network.
- One team understands the workflow.
- One team understands the support history.
- One team can help the business scale with clarity.
That is the value of an integrated partner.
The Industry Is Moving Toward Convergence
The strongest dealers are paying attention to where the market is going.
Printing Impressions summarized it clearly: in 2026, convergence is the business model. The firms gaining ground are those expanding into adjacent markets and building portfolios that blend commercial print, packaging, signage, direct mail, wide-format, apparel decoration, automation, data, and workflow solutions.
Rochester Software Associates makes a similar point, noting that traditional commercial print volumes are declining while diversification into packaging, wide-format, embellishment, merchandise, and personalization is becoming a stronger path to growth.
The takeaway is simple: the companies that stay relevant are the ones that keep evolving.
What This Means for Businesses
For business owners, administrators, operations managers, and IT leaders, this shift matters because the right partner can reduce complexity.
A diversified dealer can help answer bigger questions:
- Are our print devices secure?
- Are we overspending on outsourced print?
- Are our document workflows slowing us down?
- Are our phone systems supporting hybrid work?
- Are our backups and disaster recovery plans strong enough?
- Are our employees supported when technology changes?
- Are we measuring client experience and service quality?
These are no longer separate conversations.
They are all part of the same business technology strategy.
The Plus Inc. Perspective
At Plus Inc, we have diversified because our clients’ needs have diversified. They need guidance, protection, workflow efficiency, reliable service, and a partner who understands how each part of the technology environment affects the whole.
That is why our work spans:
- Multifunction print and managed print
- Managed IT services
- Cybersecurity and endpoint protection
- Production print
- Workflow automation
- Document management
- VoIP and unified communications
- Client experience and service excellence
The goal is not to offer more for the sake of more.
The goal is to help businesses operate smarter, safer, and more efficiently with one trusted partner.
Final Thought
The future of the print industry belongs to companies that can adapt.
The future of business technology belongs to partners who can connect the dots.
The best dealers are no longer print providers. They are operational partners helping businesses manage information, protect data, improve workflows, communicate better, and create measurable value.
That is where the industry is going.
And that is where Plus Inc is already headed.
Visit plusinc.net to learn more.