Four managers detail how they ended “free” student printing, cutting waste and saving money for their schools. Sandy Griffin Copy Center/Communication Services Administrator St. Louis College of Pharmacy Robert Mascarenhas Manager, IT Support and Printing Services University of Technology Sydney, Australia Don Harty Manager, Printing Services University of North Carolina Wilmington Newell Fogelberg Director of Imaging Services University of Colorado Boulder AT MANY universities, students in the computer labs are still allowed to print as many pages as they want—at no charge. This has led to tremendous waste. But in-plants who seek to change the situation are met with resistance from groups who
Digital Printing-Toner - Cut Sheet (Color)
In-plants are acquiring digital color presses like the iGen3, NexPress 2100 and HP-Indigo 5000 in increasing numbers. Is this the right time for you to make the investment? By Eric W. Martin CONSUMER LUST for high-definition TV is driven by digital technology. If studios and sports broadcasters can deliver a higher-quality image than ye olde cable provides, people are more than willing to shell out the money to see the result. Printing works the same way. As digital technology is adopted and improved upon in color printers, users gain the ability to print better quality images at higher speeds and lower costs with
Monochrome printers provide cost, productivity and flexibility benefits that color printers can’t touch. AS DEMANDS for color printing continue to increase, many wonder about the fate of black-and-white-only printers. Most industry experts say not only will they still be an integral part of a printing operation, they will include more features and improved workflow functions. Paula Balik uses the analogy of a stove and microwave oven. “If you’ve got a microwave now, should you get rid of your oven or does it specifically have applications that make your kitchen efficient?” poses Balik, worldwide product marketing manager for Kodak’s black-and-white printing systems. “That’s what
Full-color variable data printing is not an "if" technology, but a "when." So ask yourself: "What happens if I don't?" And, "If I don't, who will?" By Vic Barkin MAYBE YOU'VE heard this one: A customer walks into your office and says, "We need 50,000 full-color variable data brochures by Friday!" O.K., maybe you haven't. For the past decade, full-color personalization has been proselytized as the printing technology of the future. The vision of millions and millions of pages being produced digitally, in full color, at rated speed, for an audience of one, has been the proverbial pot of gold at the
As we approach 2006, this is an opportune time to assess how well your in-plant is serving its constituencies, and to lay out strategies for helping your enterprise achieve its objectives. By Frank Steenburgh Across the board, the printing industry has experienced tough times over the past several years. This has largely been driven by the impact of the Internet and the availability of an array of alternatives to print as a business communications medium. As would be expected in a period of tumultuous change, the industry continues to experience significant consolidation. In the commercial printing segment alone, according to PIA, the number
Close analysis shows the real cost of your new multifunction device may lie in the toner—especially when the vendor estimates lower toner coverage on a page than you'll actually get. By Kathy Tadlock A recent marketing campaign by a vendor selling cross-over multifunction equipment brings to light some marketing tactics that make fair comparisons among multifunction machines difficult. In a tight and competitive multifunction market, this vendor has taken a different approach that does not bring all costs out in the open. The print vendor quotes a low price of $4,000 for a 45-image-per-minute multifunction printer with duplexing, scanning/copying capabilities and a finisher. The
The in-plant manager must be the one to initiate the process of consolidating copier/RFD contracts. By Carol Brzozowski Renegotiating copier contracts is not a solo project. In-plant managers will quickly find they need the help of the Information Technology (IT) and purchasing departments. But it's important that the in-plant manager spearheads the effort. "IT people may know networking, but beyond that, they typically don't have any interest in this," says Chuck Fahnestock, copy coordinator at Wright State University. "Vending people may be adept at handling coin-operated and public walk-up machines, but they probably don't want to do anything more than contract with somebody
Creating a centralized copier management program will save your organization money while boosting your in-plant's credibility. By Carol Brzozowski Before Kris Davis took over the copier management program at West Virginia University five years ago, six different vendors were providing 80 copiers for departments on the Morgantown campus. Each vendor pushed machines with capabilities departments didn't need, pricing varied between customers and the multiple invoices were an accounting imbroglio. The situation was, quite frankly, not in the school's best interest. So Davis and his team took action. "We consolidated everything we had, when we wrote a new request for proposal, into one vendor with
Before buying any printing device, calculate the total cost of ownership. You may be surprised at what you find. By Dennis Walthers If you are considering the purchase of a new printer, take a few minutes and research the total cost of ownership. The TCO varies by printer technology. While technologies like ink-jet have a low initial cost and are well suited for day-to-day correspondence, they are not intended for the business that needs to print 10,000 color pages per month. Printer technology has changed rapidly in the past 20 years and even more so just in the last 10 years. Affordable color printing
Printing and Mailing Services at the University of St. Thomas recently consolidated its many copier leases into a single competitive-bid deal for 147 multifunction devices. Find out how you can do this too—and save your organization money. By John Barron Things had gotten out of hand at the University of St. Thomas. By the beginning of 2005, we were juggling a series of copier leases with different ending dates and with numerous vendors. Our university was clearly not getting the best deal. To rectify this, I assembled a project team to determine our requirements and select the capabilities we needed. From there