University of Regina

Challenge

When the University of Regina set a goal of becoming a leader in environmental responsibility and infusing sustainability into campus life, administrators knew they had to reassess their use of output resources. In support of this objective, the IT department was tasked with reducing the number of printers operating on campus, while improving device performance and efficiency.

The first step was to assess the university’s output environment. An internal inventory yielded surprising results: the campus had more than 1,200 printers and copiers, including a large number of non-networked, personal desktop printers. The institution also needed single, enterprise-wide output strategy to replace outdated ink jet printers with highly efficiency multifunction printers (MFPs).

In addition to managing devices, the University of Regina wanted to establish a centrally coordinated resource to optimize its campus print environment. According to Ray Konecsni, Director of Customer Support Services at the University of Regina, output management had been socialized across four separate groups. “There wasn’t much coordination given to each other among these groups,” explains Konecsni. “To effectively manage overall corporate print expenses, one area should manage it because there is only so much print budget to go around.”

Solution

After an extensive evaluation, Lexmark solutions were selected for the University of Regina. Lexmark worked with a Canadian print optimization partner to retire existing printers and copiers and replace them with devices chosen to match each department’s output and workflow demands. When the university’s previous vendor refused a temporary extension on expiring copier leases, Lexmark stepped up to accelerate the phased implementation so faculty and staff would not be impacted by the rapid migration.

“Our goal was to right size the devices for each area based on actual volume and business requirements, and truly optimize the entire environment,” says Konecsni. “The implementation went very smoothly.”

Along with installing Lexmark MFPs, the university deployed several Lexmark solutions to further streamline daily processes. Lexmark Managed Print Services (MPS) helps the institution gain control of its print architecture with infrastructure optimization and proactive management. The university also deployed Asset Lifecycle Services to monitor output assets; IMAC (Install, Move, Add and Change) reporting, a secure Web portal that manages output environments; and Lexmark MarkVision Professional, a powerful network-based tool that tracks the status of individual devices and generates service alerts.

“There are all kinds of benefits to using Lexmark MPS,” says Konecsni. “It takes a lot of headaches out of the day-to-day administration and management of the organization.”

Results

Today, the number of devices on campus been reduced from nearly 2,000 down to 445, and the university expects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 138,719 kilograms. Prior to optimization, the five-year output and supplies cost was $4,500,000; after deployment, the cost was lowered to $1,300,000. Other benefits include increased functionality, reduced printer downtime and devices that match specific user requirements for each department. Plus automatic toner replenishment means administrators no longer spend valuable time ordering supplies.

The bottom-line benefit? Faculty and staff now have more time in their day for meaningful work. “Users no longer have to worry about the administrative tasks associated with printing, copying and scanning,” says Konecsni. “Output optimization has allowed them to focus on the business outcomes they are trying to achieve, which is their true reason for being on campus.”