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Ang Hoecker

Oakland Community College Manages Growth With Managed Print Services

Oakland Community College (OCC), one of the largest community colleges in the United States, was in a difficult spot. After growing to serve over 30,000 students each year across five campuses, their IT department needed help to keep up with the demands of servicing over 500 different printers and copiers. Having ended a contract with a national organization, OCC partnered with Applied Innovation to solve their costly printing problem. Read on to find out what solutions they implemented and how OCC was able to increase printer uptime, experience financial savings, free up staff, and decrease waste.

An Unsustainable Situation

Oakland Community College felt they had lost control of their institution’s printing. Managing a fleet of 127 multifunction printers (MFP) and over 400 printers from multiple manufacturers had become too much. OCC’s IT department spent much time fixing paper jams and other printing problems, accumulating weeks of printer downtime each year. Physical and financial waste accumulated as staff continually ordered toner for inactive printers. OCC needed help.

Comprehensive Print Services

Applied Innovation stepped in and implemented its Managed Print Services (MPS) program for OCC. Applied charged OCC one low fee per print and accepted responsibility for the 500-plus printers. This included analyzing current and future needs, creating a comprehensive printing plan, identifying opportunities for increased efficiency and decreased cost, implementing new procedures, and managing maintenance and supplies.

Applied also implemented its Print Management Services, which has several layers. First, new print rules automatically sent print jobs of over 50 pages from inefficient desktop printers to more efficient MFPs, saving money. Additionally, Applied initiated cloud printing, allowing faculty and students to send print jobs to the cloud and print on demand at any printer on campus, reducing the amount of unclaimed print material left at printers and, ultimately, reducing paper waste on campus.

Reaping the Rewards

After integrating Applied’s Managed Print Services and Print Management Services into their campuses, OCC saw numerous benefits. Students and faculty welcomed a dramatically increased uptime of printers on campus, while OCC leadership welcomed an immediate and significant cost savings of 20% on printing supplies. At the same time, MPS freed OCC’s IT team from the burden of maintaining and managing printers and supplies from multiple manufacturers and could devote their time to essential institutional initiatives.

Giving an outside contractor control of an institution’s printing infrastructure requires trust. OCC established a trusted partnership with Applied Innovation and is now reaping the rewards.

Ready to see what Managed Print Services could do for your company? Contact an Applied Innovation Imaging Specialist today in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, or Tampa, Florida.

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