The top comprehensive University in the South West for graduate outcomes selects Toshiba Managed Print Services to improve service levels and streamline printing.
University of Gloucestershire is located over four campuses - three in Cheltenham and one in Gloucester, with another in Gloucester currently being built. It has a diverse, vibrant community of 12,000 students and 1,500 staff.
Committed to being carbon net zero by 2030, the University has been a pioneer in the UK Higher Education sector for sustainability for many years. It has integrated sustainability across all aspects of operations, including the curriculum and research, as well as management of the estate.
Transitioning to digital
This strong commitment to sustainability means University of Gloucestershire has been pioneering initiatives to drive down the volume of student printing for many years. It was the first university to replace its printed prospectus with a digital version in 2019, since saving 23 million litres of water, 12 million pages from landfill and over 1,160 trees.
Talking about the University’s transition programme, Rob Carter, Infrastructure Systems Developer, said: “By introducing digital platforms for online submission of assignments, we have been able to drastically reduce our volume of print across the sites. Students can simply scan and upload files to OneDrive. As with any educational establishment, there will always be a requirement for printing, but we are encouraging both staff and students to think about what they actually need to print and utilise the technology we have implemented as much as possible.”
When the University’s Managed Print contract was due for renewal, it was the ideal opportunity to completely review the entire print estate and look to rationalise in line with current usage requirements. Paul Harris, Infrastructure Senior Systems Developer, spoke about the need for a fresh approach: “We wanted a partner that would give us a new perspective, provide enhanced support, make recommendations in line with our digital ambitions, and one that would help us to reduce costs.”
A fresh perspective
As a member of the National Education Printer Agreement2 (NEPA2), University of Gloucestershire engaged with the top ranked suppliers of print equipment and solutions on the framework. Impressed by their knowledge, approach and willingness to engage, they invited Toshiba for an initial audit of their requirements. Rhys Edmunds, Business Development Manager at Toshiba, commented on the importance of being part of the Framework. He said: “NEPA2 gives its members the reassurance of solutions offering excellent value both in quality and price, that will be delivered by a team of experts in managed print and the education sector.”
“We were delighted to be selected by University of Gloucestershire on their initial shortlist as print solutions supplier and, after our early conversations, to be invited to audit their sites. We always take the time to carry out a thorough assessment of each location’s usage requirements, so we can make the best recommendations in terms of cost and efficiency savings.”
“For the University, it was very clear that they could significantly reduce the number of printers across the estate, and have a lower specification on selected devices.”
On completion of the audit, Toshiba put forward a proposal for a fully Managed Print Service with a reduction of devices by over 50%. Impressed by the knowledge of the team, the University awarded the contract to Toshiba through the NEPA2 framework.
Savings across the board
Toshiba made the transition as seamless as possible for the staff and students, with the new MFPs up and running with minimal disruption. Paul said: “The Toshiba team did a fantastic job, preparing everything in advance, so there were no delays in the process. We now have access to enhanced technology, with modern interfaces, intuitive menu options and easy to use touchscreens, all integrated into Microsoft Office.”
“The PaperCut software has far superior reporting functionality than we were using previously, allowing students to fully monitor their usage and the University to track budgets by department. Our team would have previously spent a lot of time re-working data to get the reports they needed. Now everything is fully automated.”
The University has not only made savings on their print contract, there have been considerable efficiencies due to the reduction in overall support requirements.
Rob added: “We enjoyed working with the Toshiba team as they were helpful and proactive from the outset. It’s great to have such excellent technology in place, with automatic toner replenishment, but it is the reduction in support calls from staff and students that is the biggest indication to the IT team that the print infrastructure is working as it should be. We are very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”
