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21
Print Management
Since it was established in
2008, Monmouthshire Housing
Association’s primary objectives
have been to provide and manage
affordable homes across this historic
Welsh county, to make sure that
its 3,600 homes and 290 leasehold
properties meet theWelsh Housing
Quality Standard and to ensure that
garages and land within its estates
are properly managed. Its vision
is to be the top performing social
enterprise inWales by 2019.
Managing such a vast and diverse
estate requires effective administrative
processes and workflows. Because
Monmouthshire Housing Association
is a not-for-profit organisation that
ploughs all available financial resources
back into its housing stock, it is vital
that they are cost-efficient as well.
On this basis, Monmouthshire
Housing Association Information
Services Manager Mark Gauntlett had
become increasingly concerned with
the level of inefficiency and waste in
the organisation’s print and document
management operation. “With 150 staff
printing and scanning to multiple file
paths, ascertaining who was doing what
was almost impossible and, although
I knew that there was a problem, I
had no way of efficiently monitoring
or controlling our print costs.We also
do some printing on behalf of partner
organisations and I wanted to be able to
charge them accurately for their usage,”
he said.
Gauntlett called in Antony McCarthy,
Document Solutions Expert at Toshiba
TEC, to explain the issue and to find
out what could be done to address it.
“During our conversation it was clear
that corporate social responsibility (CSR)
and sustainable operating practices are
very important to the organisation,”
explained McCarthy. “With some of
the most energy-efficient MFPs on
the market, I felt that the best way to
highlight their advantages would be to
invite Mark Gauntlett to Toshiba TEC’s
Cardiff showroom, so that he could get
hands-on and also speak to our Pre-sales
Technical Consultant, Jason Sitch.”
Print tracking
As part of his presentation Sitch used
an e-STUDIO5055CSE to demonstrate
the breadth of features found in Toshiba
TEC MFPs. Importantly, given the
requirements outlined by Gauntlett, the
device also featured the PaperCut print
management solution, which facilitates
the tracking of printing, copying and
scanning activities by user, device or
department.
“PaperCut collects data via a print
server and allows administrators to
monitor usage patterns and costs and
take appropriate action when necessary,”
Sitch said. “The ability to implement
quotas and restrict where certain types
of printing can take place has been
proven to facilitate significant cost
savings.With one simple interface,
PaperCut’s control features are easy to
use and form the basis of an advanced
administration system.”
Print queues
Having assessed various options,
Gauntlett opted for four
e-STUDIO4555CSE MFPs and one
e-STUDIO2550CSE. The former is a quiet
and user-friendly colour A3 MFP with
excellent print quality and advanced
Monmouthshire Housing Association is looking forward to savings of £24,000 after installing
environmentally-friendly Toshiba TEC MFPs running Papercut print management software.
All under one roof
Monmouthshire
Housing
Association
has also set up
internal accounts
within PaperCut
so that users
can charge their
printing to other
areas
security features; the latter is a more
compact device offering exceptional
scalability and affordability.
PaperCut was successfully installed
on all five MFPs. Now, instead of being
output instantly, print jobs are sent
to a print queue. Using their door fob
for authentication, users can access
queued print jobs and output them on
any networked device when they are
present to pick them up, thereby keeping
information and data secure. Users have
the ability to delete a specific print
command and if any jobs haven’t been
actioned after a certain period of time,
the MFP will cancel them automatically.
To save both money and paper,
mono and duplex printing are set as
default options. Monmouthshire Housing
Association has also set up internal
accounts within PaperCut so that users
can charge their printing to other cost
centres or organisations. Automatic toner
ordering and meter readings reduce the
administrative burden and ensure the
MFPs run smoothly.
Green machines
The e-STUDIO MFPs comply with
Toshiba TEC’s strict environmental
policy by incorporating innovative
features such as a toner recycling
system, which ensures absolutely no
toner goes to waste. In addition, as part
of its pioneering Carbon Zero Scheme,
the company guarantees that all
carbon emissions produced during the
manufacture of each MFP are offset in
their entirety.
Monmouthshire Housing Association’s
Mark Gauntlett is delighted with the
results and with the cost savings Toshiba
is delivering. “Optimising our print and
document management infrastructure
has made a positive difference to our
overall operation in terms of streamlining
our workflows and minimising waste,”
he said. “It has also given us a vital
way to control and monitor our print-
based resources so that we can achieve
on-going savings. I gave Toshiba TEC a
tough brief and not only has it met all
of my requirements, in many cases it
has exceeded them.We are set to save
at least £24,000 over the term of the
contract as a result.”
