Big savings: Farlington School save over £100,000 with a Toshiba print solution
Farlington, an independent day and boarding school, were looking to improve their document management tools to meet the printing needs of pupils and teachers. They turned to Docex360, Authorised Business Partner of Toshiba, to provide a robust and cost-effective solution.
The goal: a reliable and cost effective solution
The goal of Farlington School in West Sussex, which accepts pupils between the ages of 4 and 18, is to ensure that its students leave the school as well-educated young people with strong interpersonal skills and a broad range of interests. To help meet this goal, the school gives careful attention to every aspect of its operations, including ancillary services such as document management, to ensure that they perform efficiently, reliably and cost effectively.
With this in mind, Farlington enlisted the help of Toshiba’s Business Partner, Docex360, to re-assess its document management needs and to provide a robust and cost-effective solution. As a result of the assessment, Farlington purchased 12 new Toshiba multifunction printers (MFPs) and these, together with innovative PaperCut software, are delivering savings in excess of £100,000.
Taking the first step
The first step Docex360 took when approached by Farlington was to visit the school and take the time to learn more about the real document management and printing needs of the pupils and the teachers.
During the initial visit the account manager went to the school and spoke to a wide cross-section of people there to find out about their document usage – daily, monthly and throughout the year. During this exercise it was clear that the school was having problems with its existing print infrastructure – mainly the poor reliability of the equipment and the difficulty of accessing support. In addition, the document management and workflow software the school was using was not user friendly.
It was clear that a better solution was needed, so a report was submitted suggesting that the school should replace the 30 printers it was currently using with 12 Toshiba MFPs and also switch to using PaperCut software. After carefully assessing the recommendations, the school gave the go-ahead with implementing them.
Managing print assets
The PaperCut MF software that underpins the school’s new document management systems allows users to easily manage their print assets, collect usage data by location and device, identify inefficiencies and implement cost recovery and allocation strategies to maximise system productivity and return on investment.
The integrated scanning feature in PaperCut makes scanning to individual or group email addresses, home folders and scanning straight to the cloud simple, and PaperCut mobility print lets the software do the heavy lifting so BYOD printing “just works” on any device.
The new systems also feature a more efficient billing arrangement. This means that the school is now billed based on the amount of print coverage on a page rather than simply the number of pages printed, which has led to substantial savings. The school is also benefiting from working with the latest printing and document management technologies, as well as having easy access, should it ever be needed, to a helpful and responsive support team.
“The staff are really appreciating the benefits of the new machines,” said Louise Higson, Headmistress of Farlington, “and when we started to see the savings they were making for us we knew that we’d made a very good decision in purchasing them. Indeed, the financial savings we are making are in excess of £100,000 over the 3 year contract which is very attractive on its own, but we’re delighted to find that we’re also getting ease of use, much more versatile document management facilities, and excellent support.”
Flexibility is key
The printing needs of the school differ from one month to the next, depending on the school calendar. For instance, at the beginning of term there is a need to print a large volume of booklets for parents and staff. In the past, this task involved multiple steps and was both time-consuming and complex. Now, thanks to the MFPs from Toshiba and the PaperCut software, school employees can print directly from their PC, laptop or smart device and create the booklets on the fly. Similarly, when printing is needed for art classes in term time, the new systems allow pupils to realise their creativity without being hampered by hard-to-understand technology.
Planning for the future
Machines that consistently deliver outstanding performance are a key benefit for Toshiba customers, but customers like Farlington, who are also committed to protecting the environment, benefit further. With the help of experts CO2balance, Toshiba offsets its products through its Carbon Zero Scheme. Carbon offsetting allows for investment in CSR projects that save the emission of or absorb an equivalent amount of CO2 to that associated with the Toshiba product. In this way, emissions are balanced to become ‘Carbon Zero’ which allows for positive business activities with no detriment to the environment.
Through the delivery of the new print devices, Toshiba will provide two stoves that will improve quality of life for 11 people in rural Kenya, through the Carbon Offset scheme. The stoves will also save five tonnes of wood and protect 0.02 hectares of woodland.
At Farlington School, a progressive educational facility that recognises, encourages and supports students’ creativity, Toshiba MFPs and new document management software have truly made a difference. Cost and time-savings have now been added to user-friendliness and environmental benefits, making it even easier for the school’s pupils to ‘discover, believe and achieve’.
