PRINT.IT
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Print in Education
TA Triumph-Adler is warning schools of the security risks posed by
MFPs and printers
At January’s giant BETT
(2014) education show,
document and print
management solutions
provider TA Triumph-Adler
highlighted the importance of
securing the hard disks built
into today’s high-end print
devices and announced that it
would be providing education
customers with a solution to
the problem free-of-charge.
TA Triumph-Adler UK
managing director Shaun
Wilkinson told
PrintIT
: “Every
MFP has a hard disk that keeps
an image of everything you
scan or print on that device.
There have been lots of cases,
particularly in the financial
markets, where old copiers
have been scrapped and
people have removed the hard
disks and been able to access
sensitive and private data.
Bearing in mind that schools are
becoming IT savvy, often taking
confidential documents about
children and scanning them
into their systems, it is essential
the hard disk is scrubbed
afterwards so that data isn’t
available for others to see.”
To help schools do this,
TA Triumph-Adler is providing
its optional Data Security Kit
free of charge to all new and
existing education customers,
at the time of purchase or as a
retro-fit.
The Data Security Kit
encrypts data and overwrites
the hard disk randomly so
that confidential data can’t be
retrieved and restored. There
are three overwrite-erase
options: once for a speedy
solution; three times for added
security; or, for the ultimate in
protection, the ‘three passes’
method, which is compliant with
the U.S. Dept. of Defence’s data
sanitisation standards.
MPS
Another major focus for TA in
the education sector this year is
managed print services (MPS).
Wilkinson said: “We are trying
to focus on MPS and make
schools more aware that they
can become a lot more efficient
in how they print. There are
some silly click prices out there
so schools can save money on
what they purchase. But if they
are not looking at efficiency and
continue to over-print by 30%,
they will still be out of pocket.
It might be better to pay a little
more up-front and get someone
to come in and do the job
properly, for example by putting
software in place that stops
people from printing duplicates
or blank pages and enables
them to print in a more efficient
way and control usage.”
He added: “This is more
important now that people
have the ability to AirPrint
from iPads and iPhones. This
is driving another explosion in
colour printing, so you have to
get controls in place to prevent
costs from running away.”
Although most larger schools
will already have implemented
MPS, Wilkinson believes that
many smaller secondary
schools and primary schools
still buy MFPs and printers in
the traditional way. If instead
they adopt MPS and consolidate
their printer estate and
implement controls to reduce
waste and unnecessary printing,
they can look forward to savings
of at least 20%.
The danger within
As an example of the sort
of inefficiencies that still exist
in unmanaged environments,
Wilkinson cites the case of a
school that had centralised
copiers in the corridors and two
printers in every classroom, one
B&W printer and one colour
model, with separate drivers for
each. Today, there is no excuse
for such duplication and the
additional capital, consumables
and maintenance costs involved.
He suggests that the need
for greater consultancy will
encourage many schools to go
outside framework agreements
for their print devices. “Some
schools will only buy off the
framework, but a lot will go
outside the framework because
the framework is not giving
them what they need. It is
just giving them a box at a
cost. There’s no consultancy
involved; there’s
no one actually
saying what we
need to do is put
some software
in here and put a
SIMS connector in so
we can connect these
devices seamlessly to your
pupil tracking package and
other things like that.”
To find out more about how
TA Triumph-Adler can help
improve printing security and
efficiency, visit
.
Affordable colour
In a bid to reduce print
costs, many educational
establishments are installing
economical Riso ComColor
devices.
Cheam Fields Primary
School is a good example. The
local authority two-form entry
community primary school,
like other schools, had taken
on more and more technology,
from interactive whiteboards
in classrooms to wireless
networks and iPads. But it’s
printing infrastructure had
failed to keep pace.
The school produced
350,000 to 500,000 prints
a year, including teaching
material booklets, headed
paper, compliment slips and
other stationery. Due to the
limitations of the in-house
copier and desktop printers,
it outsourced some printing
volume, including colour prints.
Following a detailed audit
of print costs, volume and
printing behaviour, Riso
recommended replacing the
existing copier and seven
desktop printers with a high
speed ComColor inkjet MFP.
Cheam Fields Primary School
has now migrated all their print
volume to this cost-effective
colour printing hub, including
material that it once used to
outsource.
Now, teachers have
the ability to print colour
material such as newsletters,
certificates, workbooks and
stickers on demand. In-house
colour print volumes have
tripled, but because ComColor
devices are so economical,
print costs have remained the
same.
Shaun Wilkinson, managing
director, TA Triumph-Adler UK
