Belfast Metropolitan College - Managed Print Solution
Unnecessary and excessive printing, tackled head on by Northern Ireland’s largest Further & Higher Education College
Business Challenge
Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) has 6 campuses and over 53,000 students. The task of controlling printer and photocopier usage was therefore a challenge. The College was concerned at the limited management and financial control. In particular, concerns had been raised regarding the levels of hard copy waste and the environmental, social and financial impact. There was a need to make users, particularly students, more accountable for their hardcopy output as significant volumes of unclaimed hard copies were removed from printers at the end of each day.
Prior to the implementation of a managed print solution the print and copy services operated independently from one another and were supported by a basic break/fix contract. Almost all of the devices were printers and did not sit on the IT network. This meant there were difficulties in controlling devices, monitoring usage and therefore controlling costs. In addition it was not possible to integrate the devices into a planned Electronic Document & Record Management solution (EDRM).
In the lecture rooms there was no control or accountability regarding the usage of ‘classroom’ printers which resulted in excessive toner, paper and support costs. The Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) were areas where printing and copying volumes were high. Some of the copiers had an accounting system which required students to buy copy credits, however printers in these areas were uncontrolled. There were also two Reprographic Print rooms which contained high-spec devices that were ageing and needed to be replaced.
Overall very few scanning devices were available to students which would have significantly reduced the need for photocopying.
Business Solution
Northgate introduced a managed print solution to the College – streamlining all print and photocopy services and fully integrating them into the College’s existing IT network. The solution was initially implemented into the main campus, and then rolled out to the remaining 5 campuses facilitating all hard copy print and reproduction for lecturing staff and students. The managed print solution delivered by Northgate included:
· The supply of multi-functional printers
· Print management software
· Delivery, installation and configuration of all new hardware and software
· Consumables (excluding paper)
· Disposal of printers in line with EU standards
· Optional trade in/rebate for decommissioned printers
· Provision for future integration with an EDRM solution
· Training on hardware and software for staff
The introduction of 109 multi-functional printers means that all devices can print, scan and copy. Using access cards for students and staff, the print and copy management software provides the College with the ability to control and monitor printing and copying, set print/copy quotas,‘ pull printing’ to any device where the user identifies themselves and charging where required. This offers greater control over usage, improved data security and eliminates the potential for computer misuse and waste.
As the multi-functional printers now provide the College with the option to scan documents to email, this significantly reduces printing costs, waste, and the environmental impact. In addition teaching staff use this function to upload teaching resources to the College’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which can then be accessed by students.
In addition to the managed print solution, Northgate also delivers a full managed service for the managed print hardware and software within the college. Should any issues fail to be resolved through the service desk, a dedicated engineer is onsite at all times to ensure the issues are resolved quickly and with minimum impact.
Northgate provides a monthly service review to the college which includes statistical analysis on device usage, printing quantities per device and printing quantities for each student. This provides information which the College can use to make informed decisions, review costs and savings and ensure the service is operating efficiently.
Recognising that the demand for consumables may fluctuate, Northgate provides a flexible payment system based on usage as part of the managed service. This allows the College to budget more effectively and realise any cost savings being generated.
Results
The new print management solution implemented by Northgate has provided considerable savings across the College. An example of this is demonstrated in terms of paper usage were one of the campuses has been supplied with paper at no additional cost for an entire year with subsequent significant reduction in environmental impact.
The introduction of multi-functional printers provides an alternative to printing or copying through the scan to email solution which, as well as reducing print costs, also provides an additional level of information security. Security is further enhanced through swipe card authentication. The introduction of ‘pull printing’ allows the user greater flexibility and control over where and when a document is printed.
Within the College print processes are business led and are strategically managed based on statistical Information provided through monthly service reporting from Northgate facilitated by cutting edge copy/print management and control software.
The solution has the flexibility to enable print capabilities to change with the changing demands of a modern College that aspires to be viewed regionally, nationally and internationally as a College that creatively and effectively uses information, communication and learning technologies to enhance the quality and accessibility of teaching and learning, support and administrative services.
With the Northgate Managed Print Service, devices are managed and supported more effectively, improving their reliability and allowing staff and students to operate much more efficiently. The predictable and flexible payment mechanism assists the College in controlling costs and budgets.
Benefits
- Predictable operating costs
- Reduced costs
- Improved availability & reliability
- Enhanced information security
- Improved efficiency of staff & students
- A more environmentally friendly college
“In partnership with Northgate Managed Services we were able to design and implement an efficient user centred managed print solution which provides reduced printing costs, gave us greater control over all forms of printing and copying and offered our staff and learners an enhanced, flexible, responsive service. The managed print service provided by Northgate has taken the pressure off and allowed us to concentrate on implementing other College initiatives confident in the high quality managed support service provided by Northgate.”
Joe Reid, Manager - Curriculum Enhancement Service, Belfast Metropolitan College
‘The managed print service provided by Northgate has also enabled the development of a new ‘Document Management Unit’ within the College. The DMU is a hybrid of two former separate print rooms which now facilitates very high volume copying and print management from within one location across all Campuses. In the very near future the DMU will also become the focal point for back-scanning of corporate records into the College Electronic Document & Records Management (EDRM) system’.
Martin Turley, Reprographic Services Manager - Managed Print Solution Project Manager, Belfast Metropolitan College
