Print and document management for schools

For IT and operational managers in education, ensuring that systems and workflows are in place for best-practice document management for schools can prove to be an ongoing challenge, as this encompasses logistics, waste resources, budgets and everything in between - not to mention the school’s printing.

If printing isn’t managed efficiently, a school can experience increased overall paper and print waste, lower productivity due to delayed/antiquated systems and equipment, and higher costs from a poorly structured print environment. This is why printing is so essential to get right - and why many schools turn to managed print services to help.

A government primary school in Victoria has achieved significant gains in efficiency and productivity after implementing managed print services. We got the lowdown from the leading teacher on exactly how he drove this initiative to implement the best document management for the school.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your role and what your day-to-day is like?

I oversee the Information and Technology systems at my school to ensure students and staff have access to what they need to get the job done. Printing clearly falls under this umbrella, and my role involves making sure that students can print from mobile Bring Your Own devices, Windows laptops and teachers can print easily as well. I review our printing usage each month and set user-provisioned limits. It can be a hectic role where even a small amount of downtime can have a significant impact.

Q: Why do you think this is an important initiative?

It’s vital because efficiency is key in any organisation and because it reduces overall paper waste.

Kyocera multifunction devices and smaller duplex printers, in conjunction with PaperCut have been brilliant. One major difference is the ability to hold print jobs and collect them when time permits. It has reduced wasteful printing and leftover incorrect scraps and increased security so that only approved jobs actually print.

Students can print in large batches and collect their print jobs in a single collection, rather than sending student after student to collect their work. Overall, simplicity and efficiency have been the most significant outcomes from our reassessment of our printing processes and workflows.

Q: How did you go about creating the workflow for document management?

1. We looked for a complete document management solution for schools that incorporated scanning, photocopying, and printing. We wanted to deliver on what staff had before, but also improve it by strengthening cost management, tracking, oversight, and reducing wastage.

2. We worked with our school technician and KYOCERA to quote and prepare the purchase of a solution that met our needs.

3. We reviewed the quote, discussed it with staff and looked carefully at the number of devices and placement to ensure staff would be able to access them readily. We didn’t want underutilised equipment, but also wanted to ensure things were positioned for convenience.

4. We had the devices and software installed, and worked with staff to trial usage limits because we were uncertain as to what would be the right amount. After the trial period, we determined the limits that would apply to staff and students across the school.

5. We allocated swipe cards for all staff members to print, along with class cards as well. We decided to go with swipe cards rather than using a more traditional PIN and code. This has made an enormous difference in terms of speed, printing, and security. Students can easily collect printing for their entire class if needed.

Q: Since you implemented managed print services and new machines, what have you noticed?

For staff, there’s definitely been an increase in productivity, with more multifunction devices (MFDs) - from 2 to 4 - placed in strategic locations around the school.

Beforehand, multiple staff members wanted to use devices simultaneously. Now, we have a single print queue of our four MFDs, and staff are able to pick up printing at any location. This has increased convenience, particularly when people might be printing a larger job on one device, and it is busy. Additionally, we have provided some smaller duplex printers for classrooms in more remote locations.

As for students, there’s been a noticeable improvement in access efficiency. Students can now print from iPads as part of our Bring Your Own Tablet program, so we’re able to facilitate printing across the school. From their classrooms, students can print in large batches and collect their print jobs in a single collection, rather than sending student after student to collect their work.

Also, traditionally they used Windows-based machines that could only print black and white, but now they can print colour or black and white, with all printing tracked, so we can closely monitor it to ensure it’s not excessive.

Q: What are your best tips for other schools that want to implement MPS but have no clue where to start?

Think carefully about staff and what they need - review what’s currently being used and ask what’s going well? What need is it not fulfilling? Make sure you have a clear scope of what you want your solution to be.

When you do go out to look for a replacement system, you need to think about all the different parts of the equation - devices, accessibility in terms of locations, and potentially a management tool like PaperCut to oversee the system and make sure it will all work properly together.

Visit other schools that have implemented something and have a look at their system. We liaised with other schools through our technician, and talking to them helped us a lot in making our decision.

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, visit our Managed Print Services page.

KYOCERA Document Solutions provides document management solutions powered by ECOSYS technology to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and minimise environmental impact, while delivering greater productivity, reliability and uptime.