Client: Large Secondary School in West of Ireland
Student Population: 700 students
Staff Population: 70 teachers and administrative staff:
- Printer Infrastructure: Secondary School faced increasing difficulties with their existing print infrastructure, which had become outdated, inefficient, expensive to run and also experienced significant downtime due to service issues and print errors.
- Inefficiency and Time Waste: Teachers and administrative staff often had to wait for prints to complete, walk long distances to access department-specific printers, or deal with paper jams. Time lost on fixing printers and reprinting errors reduced productivity.
- Limited Print Monitoring and Control: The school had no central system to track printing activity, leading to uncontrolled and excessive printing. This lack of accountability meant rising costs and unnecessary waste of paper and toner.
- Environmental Concerns: As a school aiming to reduce its carbon footprint, they wanted to minimize paper usage and adopt greener practices, but their print system lacked the capability to support sustainability goals.
Solution
After reviewing several proposals, the school opted for a Managed Print Solution from SmartBiz. The implementation took two weeks, and the solution addressed the school’s key issues:
- Consolidation of Print Devices: 5 multi-functional devices (MFDs) strategically placed across the school. These MFDs could print, scan, copy and release print jobs, supporting the needs of all departments.
- Cost Savings and Predictable Budgeting: The managed print contract included a fixed monthly fee covering all maintenance, toner replenishment, and regular servicing, helping the school manage its budget more predictably.
- Print Management Software: The school was equipped with print management software that allowed the school to track and monitor print usage. This software also enabled user authentication, so staff had to log in before printing, which helped control overprinting and misuse.
- Secure and Remote Printing: With the new solution, teachers could now print documents securely from their computers and release the job from any MFD using a key Fob. This flexibility allowed staff to avoid queues and ensured confidential documents weren’t left at printers.
- Sustainability Goals: The new system included duplex (double-sided) printing as a default, reducing paper usage by 30%. Digital document storage and scanning options also reduced the need for hard copies of assignments, reports, and memos.
Results
After implementing the Managed Print Service, Greenfield Secondary School saw the following benefits:
- Cost Reduction: Print costs dropped by 20%
- Increased Efficiency: Teacher and staff productivity increased as they spent less time dealing with printer malfunctions and waiting for documents. The print management software also eliminated long queues and print delays.
- Sustainability Impact: The school achieved a 40% reduction in paper use within the first year and significantly lowered its carbon footprint through duplex printing and recycling programs.
- Improved Security: Confidential documents, such as student reports and internal staff communications, were handled more securely thanks to the personal print release system, reducing the risk of data breaches.
- Scalability: The MPS solution provided by EcoPrint Solutions allowed the school to easily scale up or down based on changing needs, such as increasing print capacity during exam periods.