Every school has a strict budget, and every school could do a lot with a higher one. However, that set budget is what your school has to work with, so it's important to make it go as far as it can go to help both students and teachers. The cost of printing is one budget item that comes up a lot, since so many teachers have to print so many different papers for their students. However, it is possible to trim that budget through print management.
The Print Numbers
Like every school, yours likely has a high number of pages printed out every day. It's hard to know who is printing what and why they are printing it, though. Is all of this printing really necessary? Can any of this printing be avoided? In almost every case, yes it can. Part of effective print management is to make every person in the school who uses the printer accountable for how much they print. That includes giving each person a password code to use to work the printer. This allows for easy monitoring of how the printer gets used and in what volume each person is using it. Are teachers printing 100 copies of something that could be simply taped to the door of the classroom instead? This certainly does happen, and this can help you to avoid that scenario.
Old Printers vs New Printers
It seems like a great idea to hang on to old equipment for as long as it will work. If old copiers and printers are still working, why replace them, you may ask. However, older printers use more energy to print. This not only costs more money in energy use for the machine itself, it costs more to cool the building when the printer heats up the room. Older printers also heat more of the area than newer ones. And, the quality delivered by most old printers isn't good next to the printers of today. Making a lot of mistakes thanks to an old machine can mean printing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a better-looking page. All of this costs more than it should. Having your laser printers evaluated, and having old ones removed, can make a big different in your print costs in the future.
Maintenance for All Printers
The more a machine gets used, the more often it will need to have maintenance to keep it running. With the rate at which schools print pages, your school's printers will need regular maintenance appointments. When you have a print management contract in place, those appointments can be scheduled in advance and done as needed- and for a lower price than you would pay without a contract. You can keep your printers going for longer, reduce the price of their maintenance and not have to chase down a printer dealer to get the appointments. It's all there to save your school both time and money.
If you are ready for a better print management solution, contact us today to get started.
