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High school|

Paper waste down 90% for a UK school

Front of a school

Cutting to the chase

Problem

No quotas or visibility = unaccounted-for printing and spiraling costs


Solution

Quotas for students, plus monitoring and reporting for the faculty


Outcome

Student paper waste was reduced by 90%, dramatically cutting costs

Colchester Royal Grammar School (CRGS) is a venerable institution founded in 1206 AD. Now a school for boys aged 11 to 18 (with girls in the Sixth Form), it’s committed to excellence by blending traditional values with a forward-looking approach.

However, CRGS didn’t need to gaze far into the future to see their printing was a problem. Costs were skyrocketing, and they had no visibility on who was printing what, and to what volumes.

They needed print management with a pedigree to match their own.

The introduction of PaperCut slashed student paper waste by tenfold"

- Chris Hill,

IT Manager at Colchester Royal Grammar School

Problem

No quotas or visibility = unaccounted-for printing and spiraling costs

With nearly 1,000 students and staff at CRGS, it’s easy to see how print costs could spiral out of control. A frustrated IT department helmed by IT Manager, Chris Hill, began the search for a solution to control student printing, and help the faculty manage their own printing costs.

In addition to providing transparency around printing, Chris was also after a solution both flexible and customizable. That way, CRGS could differentiate between different printing groups and provide tailored options.

So when he landed on PaperCut – and had it up and running with student quotas in just four hours – he knew he was onto a winner. CRGS had found their print management solution in shining armor.

Solution

Quotas for students, plus monitoring and reporting for the faculty

Students were given a quota of £3 to £5 per month based on their year level, with selected students having limited admin rights to get additional credit. Upper limits were also set to prevent build-up from the previous month’s carry-over.

The resounding success of the student rollout also encouraged Chris to monitor staff and faculty printing, raising awareness of waste, and instilling an all-important ‘think before you print’ mentality.

Furthermore, CRGS set up Shared Accounts with PIN numbers to allocate printing across departments and groups. Department heads now receive reports at the end of each term summarizing individual staff member activity, as well as device-specific activity.

Outcome

Student paper waste was reduced by 90%, dramatically cutting costs

“The introduction of PaperCut slashed student paper waste by tenfold,” says Chris (1500 sheets a week to 150, to be precise). Needless to say, the resultant cost savings have been significant, more than justifying the rollout.

Chris himself is particularly happy with the newfound visibility on printing: “It’s great to know people are being charged for exactly what they are using, whether they have remembered to switch the printer into ‘grayscale’ mode or not.”

Students and staff are printing more responsibly, CRGS is saving money, and Chris is a happy man. What’s not to love here?