PRINT.IT
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Mike Barnard, Head of Professional
Services, TA Triumph-Adler (UK)
Education technology made big
strides in 2014 and, with interactive
teaching methods, cloud-based
teaching, MOOC, BYOD, document
sharing and print/scan functionality
growing fast, we will see schools’
requirements in 2015 moving
towards a much more integrated, all-
encompassing IT infrastructure.
There is also a growing need
to securely file and easily access
classroom notes, reports, lesson
plans and hand-outs, as well
as paperwork related to school
management, so we are also seeing
much more integration between
hardware and software.
Every school has different print
requirements and we would always
recommend a rigorous print review
to discover where savings and
efficiencies can be made before
investing in any new printer hardware
or software. We often find that
printer fleets can be reduced by
installing faster, more efficient MFDs
which, when combined with a range
of smart, user-friendly software, can
achieve reasonable cost savings and
reduce print volumes.
The best suppliers have moved to
a solutions-driven approach, and this
has helped schools realise the full
potential of good quality technology.
For example, our Productivity Pack
can help save budgets by reducing
wasted print through printing queues,
electronically archiving documents
and providing document OCR
functions.
A common issue in schools is
multiple copies of documents being
printed out unnecessarily due to
pupils repeatedly pressing ‘print’.
Using the right software, printers
are able to control that waste; if the
software sees that somebody has
asked for the same document to be
printed more than once, it will delete
subsequent requests, saving the
school budget and also helping the
environment.
With the rise of electronic
documents and BYOD, security is
clearly becoming a bigger issue, and
we’ve seen a rise in schools looking
for clear data security measures on
new hardware, alongside guarantees
that print and scan data is safe.”
Simon Hill, Sales Director UK &
Ireland at Nuance Communications
Today’s students are the most IT-
savvy generation ever. Their early
exposure to mobile devices has set a
benchmark for the performance and
ease of use they expect from other
devices. From a print perspective,
they want a consistent and intuitive
interface and minimal effort to print
and release documents from a device.
The increasing use of technology
in education has made the creation
of content even easier. With that
in mind, it could be assumed that
print volumes are set to increase as
students and staff turn their digital
content into print output. Failing to
put a cap on print output could see
print volumes run wild.
However, the application of
Intelligent Print Management
solutions like Equitrac, which brings
accountability and control to printing,
helps to control print volumes.
The detailed reporting these
solutions provide also ensures that
departments are billed for their print
output, aiding cost recovery.
Another way to control students’
print volumes is for the Intelligent
Print Management solution to work
in conjunction with a credit-based
system like ParentPay. As each print
is deducted from a student’s account,
it makes them think more carefully
about what they print.
To further reduce wasteful printing,
How is technology changing printing in schools, colleges and universities?
We ask leading suppliers of printers and print solutions for their thoughts
Ask the experts
Continued...
The importance of print
in education cannot be
underestimated. From newsletters
and communications with parents
to worksheets and learning aids,
printed materials are essential to
the smooth running of a school. A
typical primary school of around
350 pupils and 30 staff prints more
than 500,000 items a year; some
secondary schools print in excess
of 3.5 million pages.
The cost of printing can sky-
rocket if not properly measured
and managed. Yet some schools,
even those with new buildings and
processes, still do not have easy
access to information about who
prints what, when and how. Research
shows that by gaining control of
print, primary schools could save an
average of £1,500-£3,500 a year,
while secondary schools could save
as much as £40,000.
There are a number of things
schools can do to reduce print
costs, starting with a full audit
of the print process to highlight
inefficiencies, from wasteful printing
and high cartridge spend to time
spent repairing faulty devices and
replenishing toner.
It is vital that the audit looks at
the total return on investment. A
cheaper print device may look good
on the balance sheet initially, but it
might have higher running costs or
be unable to cope with expected print
volumes in the long run.
Simple things such as using
print management software and
more efficient, reliable centralised
Don’t forget to audit
Tatsuo Murakami, managing director of RISO UK
devices that offer cost-effective
colour printing at high speed will help
schools to reduce their bills. Faster,
more productive machines can also
improve productivity, freeing up staff
and eliminating headaches, such
as paper jams and slow output, that
are so damaging to staff morale and
efficiency.
One school that has not looked
back since conducting a print audit
is Cheam Fields Primary School in
Cheam, Surrey. School bursar Nicky
Gilhespy said: “We carried out an audit
of our printing resource and realised
that we could not only cut costs but
also produce more items and in colour,
which can be an aid to learning. I
would advise any school to really
examine their print requirements with
an independent audit.”
Mike Barnard,
Head of
Professional
Services,
TA Triumph-Adler
(UK)
Simon Hill,
Sales Director
UK & Ireland,
Nuance
Communications
Tatsuo Murakami,
Managing Director,
RISO UK
