An Outsourcing Debacle

For example, the article says one high school was told by Kinko's it was spending $104,116 annually to run its copiers, and the company promised to save that school $45,000. The principal, though, contends costs were closer to $42,000, and she had no idea how the company came up with its high figure. The formula Kinko's uses, the article says, adds in time teachers spend making copies, time spent by repairmen, and supplies like toner, which had been free under previous contracts. (Incidentally, after contracting with Kinko's, that school saw copying/printing expenses jump to $158,000 by 2005.)