Just one in three healthcare
organisations has
implemented a Managed
Print Service (MPS), even
though reducing print costs
is the biggest priority for
the sector, according to
new research by print and
document solutions provider
Annodata.
Its survey of 100 IT
directors at HETT, a major
healthcare exhibition in
London, reveals that only
36% of healthcare organisations currently
use MPS, with 83% of the remainder stating
that they had no plans to adopt one.
When respondents were asked about
their print priorities for the next 12 months,
cost cutting came out on top, selected by
half (53%), followed by reducing printing’s
environmental impact (13%) and improving
security (11%).
Annodata managing director Andrew
Harman said: “As the NHS looks to drive
efficiencies and drive down costs without
impacting front-line services considerable
effort is being made to streamline back
office functions and IT. But it would seem
that in this drive towards efficiency, the print
estate has been largely ignored.”
He warns that unmanaged print fleets
carry the risk of spiralling print costs –
especially in the healthcare sector, which
remains so dependent on
paper-based documentation
– and add significantly to
the work-load of time-poor
IT staff. Instead of trying to
manage printers themselves,
Harman advises NHS
organisations to adopt a
managed print service.
“Managed print services
have a great deal to offer
the healthcare sector,
helping IT departments
to regain control over
their print estates – which often consist
of hundreds, sometimes thousands of
devices. By outsourcing the management
of these print devices to a trusted third
party, healthcare organisations stand to
significantly lower their overall print spend,
rationalise the number of devices on site,
reduce the burden of device maintenance
and management, limit their environmental
footprint, and, critically, improve the security
of their data,” he said.
He added: “In the immediate term, IT
leaders need to look at print as another
part of their data landscape and treat it
accordingly. It’s also important to examine
how documents can be managed effectively
and ensure the most effective processes.
Ultimately printed and scanned information
is data too, and systems to handle it need to
be integrated with the digital world.”
6
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
Bulletin
Print neglect by IT directors adds to
NHS cost burden
Is three-tier billing right for
you? Just ask Preton
Preton has launched a new colour page
analysis tool that uses the company’s
patented Pixel Optimization technology
to identify and monitor savings that can
be made by switching to three-tier colour
page billing.
Available on Kyocera MFPs and Xerox
ColorQube solid ink devices, three-tier billing
applies different click charges depending on
the amount of colour used. Thus a page with
a small colour logo will attract a lower charge
than one with a full-page colour photo.
Preton’s X3T analysis tool lets users
upload a document online to verify which
tier and price point it falls under.
They could then use PretonSaver
software to monitor print on an on-going
basis and identify jobs that could be printed
more cost effectively
on a device with three-
tier billing.
Gold standard duplicator
RISO has broken new ground with the
launch of a metallic gold ink for use in its
latest models of digital duplicator. These
include the RISO SE9380, which has a
record-breaking top speed of 185 ppm, and
the dual-drum SE9350 specially designed
for two-colour output. Having two drums
removes the need to reinsert paper and
change drums in order to print in a second
colour. The ME9350 also has the option of
a new HG double layer master that enables
finer print resolution and more detailed
reproduction.
In brief...
Mark of trust
Capita Document and Information
Services has become one of the first
businesses in the UK to receive the
CompTIA Managed Print Trustmark.
CompTIA, the non-profit association for
the information technology industry,
developed Trustmark to identify providers
of managed print services that have made
a commitment to deliver the highest levels
of integrity and quality of service. Capita
was evaluated on the internal practices
and procedures it uses to run the
business and the external activities and
operations it engages in with customers.
Treasury MPS
Oki Systems UK, working in partnership
with services provider Centerprise
International, has been awarded a
contract to provide managed print
services to Her Majesty’s Treasury. In a
separate contract, Centerprise won the
bid to provide the Treasury’s media and
wireless ICT services.
Five million devices
FMAudit Enterprise, the printer data
collection and management system
underpinning many managed print
services contracts, is being used to
monitor more than five million devices
worldwide, having added one million
devices in the last year. ECi Software
Solutions says much of this growth
has come from the success of FMAudit
Onsite, which has been installed on the
premises of more than 210,000 accounts
since July 2013.
Silver service
Ringdale Inc., provider of the FollowMe
document output management solution,
has been awarded a 2014 Silver Partner
in Excellence Award from Hewlett Packard
(HP) for the second year running.
A safe bet
Over the summer Balreed completed the
roll-out of 1,400 Oki printers to more than
1,000 Betfred locations nationwide as
part of a new managed print service. The
entire implementation was completed
within two and half months as every
device had to be installed in time for the
World Cup and the new football season.
Betfred’s printers will be monitored in real
time by Balreed’s Remote Managed Print
Service Team.
Andrew Harman, managing
director, Annodata
Xerox ColorQube devices
offer three-tier billing
