From Buzzwords to Business Value: Unlocking Cross-Selling Opportunities with Production Print
“Printer security” has been a buzzword in the office technology industry for years, often touted as a must-have service. “If you don’t protect the plethora of printers you have, you’re an easy target to hack!” Yet, from what I’ve seen, it’s a concept that hasn’t fully gained traction in the mainstream business environment. Most organizations aren’t going to prioritize upgrading their entire fleet of printing environments because of security concerns unless a security breach makes it an urgent concern. I have often seen that it's a nice added feature, but not really a sole reason to initiate a purchase. Curious to understand this disconnect, I reached out to several Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) at major retailers to gather their insights. What I learned not only clarified what the challenges actually are but also uncovered significant, untapped opportunities for office technology companies and copier dealerships to deliver real value and differentiate themselves in the market.
Retail Insights: A Surprising Vulnerability
When I asked these executives about printer security in their enterprises, they shared some interesting insights. While they found scare-tactic campaigns—like those popularized by HP’s Wolf series—somewhat entertaining, they didn’t believe these efforts would prompt immediate action unless a business had already experienced a security breach that involved imaging devices. One area that does hit their radar, however, and catches their attention every now and then, are the security alerts and notifications tied to production print equipment.
Why production printers? For their companies, these devices represent a significant vulnerability because they are used to produce personalized marketing materials containing sensitive customer data in mass. Combine a couple of production print devices with a retailers’ relatively flat network architectures—which are fairly common in the industry due to simplicity, cost-efficiency, and ease of scale—this creates a glaring potential security risk.
Their challenges include securing these production printers while ensuring compliance with PCI regulations and protecting personal data. One CISO highlighted that production printers come equipped with wireless networking capabilities, that’s naturally designed to facilitate easy connectivity – which is great for a marketing or operational executive. However, these common features introduce significant security vulnerabilities if not properly managed. Adding to the complexity, production printers must often reside on the same network as private data to process and produce the desired finished pieces, further increasing exposure risks. It’s not that simple to just create a different network or layer to better protect the data.
To illustrate the potential impact, consider the example of a retail company that experienced a breach through a production printer, exposing thousands of customer loyalty profiles. The incident not only triggered mandatory disclosures under state data breach laws but also resulted in significant reputational damage, eroding customer trust. As one retail CIO put it, managing production printers is particularly challenging because it falls squarely at the intersection of operational efficiency and data security.
Why Desktop Printers and Office Copiers Are Less of a Security Concern
Desktop printers and office copiers pose fewer security challenges compared to production printers, primarily due to their limited role in handling sensitive data and simpler network configurations. Here’s why they are generally considered lower risk:
Limited Data Sensitivity: These devices are typically used for everyday, low-sensitivity tasks (e.g., internal documents, memos, or reports). They rarely handle large amounts of customer PII (personally identifiable information) or regulated data like PCI or HIPAA at a large scale.
Lower Volume of Output: Desktop and office devices handle smaller-scale printing needs, reducing the risk of exposing large amounts of sensitive data if compromised.
Simpler Network Configurations: These printers often connect directly to workstations or local networks, minimizing their attack surface.
Pre-Existing Security Features: Most office environments already employ sufficient network security measures, such as endpoint monitoring and basic access controls, which adequately protect these devices as part of their broader IT policies.
At the end of the day, these inherent factors make desktop printers and office copiers less attractive targets for attackers and easier to secure within existing IT frameworks.
Why Production Printers Are a Bigger Concern
Production printers generally play a critical role in high-volume, customer-facing tasks, making them more attractive targets for attackers. Their integration into sensitive workflows and larger-scale operations creates unique challenges:
Sensitive Data Handling: Production printers often handle tasks like:
Personalized marketing materials.
Customer invoices, loyalty program details, or other sensitive records.
This makes them high-value targets for attackers looking to exploit sensitive information.
High Data Throughput: These printers process large-scale jobs, increasing the risk of exposing significant amounts of sensitive data if compromised.
Complex Integration: Production printers are frequently connected to workflows such as:
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Marketing automation platforms.
Cloud-based file storage or processing tools.
These connections create multiple entry points for potential attacks.
Network and Compliance Risks: Production printers are often integrated into shared or flat networks that also house critical systems like payment gateways, customer databases, and IoT devices. This lack of segmentation amplifies risks, especially in regulated industries like retail (PCI compliance), healthcare (HIPAA), and education (FERPA), where a breach can result in severe financial and reputational damage. These devices are often overlooked during compliance audits, creating a blind spot for security teams.
Management Dynamics: Production printers typically receive regular maintenance to ensure operational reliability. However, security considerations are not always prioritized, often due to siloed management teams that focus on operations without aligning with a company’s broader security strategies.
These risks underscore why production printers require more advanced security strategies, such as network segmentation, robust access controls, and stricter compliance measures.
Not Just Retail: Shared Challenges Across Industries
The vulnerabilities tied to production print security extend beyond retail. For production print professionals, you know that many industries rely on production printers for critical workflows involving sensitive data. Here are some examples:
Legal: Production print is heavily used for confidential client documents. Flat networks in small-to-midsized law firms make them prone to data breaches.
Manufacturing: From technical schematics to proprietary product labels, manufacturing environments process sensitive data, often on shared or minimally segmented networks.
Education: Schools and universities rely on production printers for enrollment forms and student records, with limited IT budgets leading to security gaps.
Healthcare: Production print plays a critical role in patient records, billing, and compliance documents, all of which contain highly sensitive and regulated data, making these environments vulnerable to HIPAA violations and breaches.
In each case, production printers process large amounts of sensitive data, often in environments with flat architectures or legacy systems, making them prime targets for breaches or compliance issues.
The Real Cross-Selling/Upselling Opportunity for Dealerships
For dealerships offering both production print and managed IT services, this represents a golden opportunity. Sales conversations around production print often focus on traditional “speeds, feeds, and finishing capabilities,” but addressing the unique security challenges tied to production print can set you apart. Security is not only an effective way to differentiate but also a strategic foot in the door, as it addresses pain points for different buyers who may not prioritize traditional features of production print. Here's how dealerships can tailor their approach across industries:
For Retail: Secure the “last mile” of production print used for personalized marketing materials and customer loyalty programs, ensuring sensitive data is protected and PCI compliance is achieved.
For Legal: Help law firms secure production printers used for legal filings, client records, and other confidential documents, reducing the risk of breaches and meeting privacy regulations.
For Manufacturing: Offer solutions to safeguard proprietary technical schematics, labels, and other sensitive data often processed by production print systems.
For Education: Address vulnerabilities in production printers used for student records, enrollment documents, and large-scale educational materials, ensuring compliance with FERPA standards.
For Healthcare: Provide robust security measures for production print devices used in patient records, billing statements, and compliance documents to mitigate HIPAA risks and safeguard sensitive medical data.
By addressing these targeted challenges and tailoring your solutions to specific pain points, your dealership can position itself as a trusted partner. This approach empowers your sales team to initiate meaningful conversations about value-added services, paving the way for broader IT and security opportunities. Instead of relying on scare tactics like HP’s Wolf campaigns or the overused “free security assessments” many dealers push, focus on delivering genuine value to existing customers and prospects who depend on production print solutions. It’s a simple yet effective way to differentiate yourself and foster more impactful conversations.
Why Printer Security Didn’t Take Off Before—and Why It Can Now
In my personal opinion, one reason printer security hasn’t gained widespread traction in business is the disconnect between traditional printer security approaches and the specific pain points faced by businesses using office imaging devices. The pain isn’t great enough to initiate a change unless a company was already breached, and security awareness is heightened. Most of the marketing I’ve seen around printer security focuses on scare tactics or very general IT risks, which often fail to resonate with business executives who prioritize operational efficiency over abstract threats.
However, if you can tie production print security to industry-specific challenges—such as PCI compliance in retail, HIPAA requirements in healthcare, or intellectual property protection in manufacturing—it becomes far more actionable and enticing to act upon. These tailored applications not only highlight the relevance of security measures but also open doors to more strategic IT and workflow discussions.
I’m not suggesting that you only sell security features with production print. What I am suggesting is that this is an easy way to position your dealership and your sales reps as partners who understand industry-specific workflows, compliance needs, and the operational pain points unique to production printers. By addressing these challenges proactively, you can establish yourself as a trusted advisor in both.
Let’s Explore This Together
If your dealership is ready to take advantage of this cross-selling/upselling opportunity or would like to explore other ways to increase your lifetime value of existing customers and attract new ones, I’d love to help. At Dealer Growth Agency, we specialize in building marketing accelerators for office technology companies and copier dealers to attract new prospects, convert them to profitable customers, and retain them as raving fans. To learn more about how we can do that for your dealership, let’s connect!
📞 For more information or to connect, visit www.dealergrowthagency.com.
