Education has traditionally been an industry synonymous with manual processes and paper-based systems, so having an outdated printing solution can quickly eat into time, budgets and resources, not to mention exposing an organisation to increased security risks. That’s why many educational institutions are using multifunction devices (MFDs) and mobile printing solutions – the process of sending data to a printer via a mobile device – to improve operational efficiencies and security measures in the digital age.
A government school in Victoria is one such example of a school that’s been able to reap significant benefits by enabling a mobile printing solution throughout its premises. The leading teacher shares how the school streamlined its print and document management processes (and realised several other improvements) with Kyocera's help.
Studies have shown that Australian schools are set back tens of thousands of dollars yearly in paper-based activities, including printing, photocopying and administrative time.
As technology continues to advance along with the need for the industry to operate more sustainably, educational institutions need greater accessibility and efficiency to streamline processes and manage security, wastage and costs effectively.
Simply put: if your school’s printing processes aren’t optimised, you’ll face increased costs and heavier workloads, as well as reliability and security issues over time.
The priorities of the leading teacher include ensuring printing convenience, security and ease for both students and teachers, and simple system administration.
He also needed to ensure everyone could print in all their classes, and that the school is able to get a solid understanding of what their printing is like whenever needed.
And so, he searched for a wireless printer solution that would:
The first step to achieving these was to develop goals for the school’s scanning, copying and printing needs.
The school then worked with Kyocera to develop and implement a fully customised mobile printing solution and managed print service (MPS) across the school.
The leading teacher also discussed new equipment requirements – including the number of machines, locations and accessibility points – with school staff to ensure optimal utilisation of any new equipment.
Once all printing devices were installed, the school assessed usage to ascertain how much they printed. They then:
Every school’s needs are different, but in this case, having an optimised printing solution resulted in huge productivity, security and saving improvements that were noticed right away.
It turned out that doubling the number of MFDs they had, providing more devices in strategic locations (but keeping the same volume and enabling mobile printing solutions) made all the difference. The school’s staff felt that their printing, scanning and photocopying needs were much better met.
“Before implementing this document management solution, multiple staff had to use a device at the same time, and that would slow them down. Now they can print to a central queue of four MFDs and pick up their documents at any location, which is a major advantage,” said the leading teacher.
“It’s not just school staff that are reaping the benefits, either. Before this, students would use Windows machines and could only print in black and white. Now they’re able to print in colour, but it’s tracked to ensure that it’s not excessive. They can also now print from iPads, and printing from across the school can be facilitated through a tablet program,” he said.
Going down the mobile printing route requires some change. According to the leading teacher, it involves reviewing what's currently being used, whether it’s going well and understanding where the gaps in efficiency are.
Introducing mobile printing without considering security and restrictions can leave school print systems vulnerable. Any vendor who recommends a mobile printing solution for your school should also include a plan to manage security.
“When you do go out to look for a replacement system, you also need to think about all the different parts of the equation,” says the leading teacher. This includes looking at devices (what you’ll buy), locations and accessibility (where you’ll place them), and management tools (the software you might use) so you ensure everything is connected and working correctly.
“There should also be a clear, realistic and as much as possible future-proof scope around what you want your solution to be,“ says the leading teacher.
And although every learning education is different, it’s a good idea to enquire with other schools who have implemented something similar, to learn how their system works.
The school liaised with other schools that utilised mobile printing and worked with Kyocera to achieve an optimal printing environment. Consulting with other education organisations proved particularly valuable throughout the decision-making process.
Managed Print Services is a flexible and scalable print solution that can meet the changing needs of your organisation in the new era of work. To learn how you can reduce your costs, minimise risk, improve your environmental footprint and gain greater control of your print environment, download our Managed Print Services Fact Sheet.