Dunlap, Ill. — The Dunlap school board approved a centralized printing program on Aug. 10 that will save $350,000 over the next five years.
Currently, the district has 337 printers, along with 11 copiers, eight fax machines and seven multi-functional devices.
The new program would have about 60 copiers and printers around the district. In addition, the fax machines would be inside the office copier and the printers would be able to scan and send articles to teacher’s emails.
“The centralized printing allows us to get a higher quality product with more effeciency,” Superintendent Dr. Jay Marino said. “We believe we’re going to save paper, toner, power cost and cost per page to the tune of about $75,000 per year. It came from, when you’re in defecit mode like we are this year, for the first time in a long time, you start looking for ways where you can reduce your cost.”
The printers will be placed within the vicinity of classrooms, such as in a wing or team room.
Currently, the district is paying at least $16,000 a month for printing and copying, not counting any printing overages that may happen. With the new contract, the district will be able to print more than 11 million copies a year before overages are charged. The total contract will be $117,180 a year.
The contract gets the district new copiers and printers in each building. The older machines will be sold after the new ones are installed.
The printers and copiers are expected to be installed in every school by the third week in September. After installation, students will be able to print from computer labs, while teachers will gain a passcode that will be used for walk-up printing.
“Walk-up printing means I might push print, and the whole day goes by and I must not have needed it too bad and the print job goes away,” Marino said. “So, we’re going to get rid of these large stacks of print jobs that people send to the printer but never pick up.”
In addition, he said the walk-up printing fixes a privacy issue where sensative material that is printed can only be seen by the teacher that printed it.
All printers in the district will also now be networked, meaning that teachers will be able to send a document to the printer at one school and pick it up at another school if needed.
Next year, more devices will be added to the contract for Hickory Grove Elementary School.
http://www.chillicothetimesbul...cost-saving-printing
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