SUMMARY:
The Lab has rolled out brand new Multi-Function Devices (aka new printers) to all the above-ground floor printer closets in the Allen Center, as well as one in the main business office. These MFDs are provided by Ricoh, as part of the campus Managed Print Services program, and have full print/copy/fax/scan functionality.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS CHANGE:
- Traditional print queue names have been preserved, in some cases expanded. Many of these devices have replaced the mature Xerox color printers. We have added a new color-capable printer in nearly all closets that currently lack color printing (yes, the ability to print in *color* is coming to nearly all upper floor closets, WOOT!). The plan is to eventually converge print and other document services onto a single new Ricoh device in each closet. In January 2014, we intend to direct both print queues (psNN1 and pscNN1) onto the Ricoh device, aiming to provide both a “print in mono” option as well as a full color queue.
-Users in offices along the South corridor and West “half” of the building will want to add the COLOR PRINT QUEUES, namely psc341, psc441, psc541. The Business office device is named psc140.
-Windows users may be prompted to update or install a new driver, in order to print to the existing queues.
-Some multi-function capabilities of these devices will not be available at first. Scan-to-email should be available sometime during Winter Qtr. 2014. Look for that service announcement in an email.
-Outgoing Fax services will continue to only be available in the N41 closets, from the new Ricoh device.
-It should also be noted that it remains considerably more economical as well as time-efficient to make larger volume photocopies on the main floor Xerox copy center machines.
WHY WE ARE MAKING THIS CHANGE:
-Much of our existing printer fleet is now 10 years old (or older in some cases) and many of them have developed a distinct beige patina. It is time.
-Adoption of Managed Print Services (MPS) has been encouraged by the Washington State Auditor’s office. The University conducted an MPS RFP in 2012 and ultimately selected Ricoh as the vendor. Our own Voradesh Yenbut participated and advised on the RFP committee. MPS is a service in which the vendor supplies the hardware (in this case, at no upfront cost), service and support over the period of the contract as well as all consumables (toner, etc) other than paper, in return for a per page “impression charge”. The devices report errors and low supplies to a central Ricoh dispatch service, where service calls and/or consumables are (for the most part) dispatched automatically. During the initial period we still advise that you email support about any issues you encounter with the new devices (jams, errors, etc), to verify that reporting system is working.
- We like to think we already operate rather efficiently at performing “Centralized Printing Services” compared to other units on campus. But based on our research of printing volumes in the school over the past few years, we believe that converting to this service model could potentially save the school $$ both in saving the upfront cost of the hardware, as well as in ongoing supply costs over the length of the contract. That is of course if recent the mono vs. color print ratios continue. The approximate per page rate is 2 cents/page mono, 4.5 cents/page color. We estimated a per page ongoing cost of 15cents per page (color) and 2.5 cents per page (mono), managing our own printers by comparison. There is a minimum mono print volume charged to Dept. per month, based on the number of devices, but we’ve placed the devices in a way that we believe can ensure we’re getting our money’s worth. Over time, we can also add devices to soak up any “free prints” we might be leaving unused. One thing to note, we are only charged the color rate for those pages in a document that have color on them.
More on UW Managed Print Services, provided by Ricoh.
While conservation of resources is always encouraged, we just remind you to keep all these things in mind when printing.
Your feedback and comments about the new devices are welcomed. For those please email support@cs. If you have specific questions pertaining to MPS, feel free to contact Aaron Timss directly (timss@cs.washington.edu).