Printers in classrooms?

[thimon]

Hi all.

 

Our Junior School site currently has a monochrome laser printer in each classroom, in addition to 2 full size Konica Minolta photocopiers in the staff rooms. I would really like to remove all printers from classrooms to reduce printing cost, not to mention they're a nightmare to manage. Do you think I'm being reasonable in taking away the classroom printers? We've currently got PaperCut NG, until we get MF (where I want staff ID badges to release print jobs) they can use Secure Print if they need to print anything confidential. I'm considering leaving the classroom printer in Nursery as it's so far away from one of the staff rooms where the copiers are located.

 

For anyone that manages a Junior School, how do you manage printing? What's your printing set up for teachers?

 

Any feedback or suggestions would be really appreciated!

 

Thank you

[Smee]

we are a large primary. We have a colour laser printer in each computer suite, a colour laser printer in each year group and a mono networked photocopier in each key stage. Teachers and pupils have a limited amount of printer credits for use with the printers but unrestricted printing with the mono photocopiers. It works well with only 1 or 2 teachers running out of printer credits each month as they are too lazy to walk to the photocopiers. Most teachers send to the photocopiers and get the LSA's to collect the work. Each year group has its own user name for the photocopiers so any confidential stuff will only print out once they've logged in. (we have 3 classes per year group)

[LeMarchand]

For anyone that manages a Junior School, how do you manage printing? What's your printing set up for teachers?

 

School is "split" into two halves by layout. There is one MFD in each half. Printing defaults to hold and b/w but can be changed to locked (for confidential items) and colour. Teachers can print to either machine, but get the one in their "half" of the school as default. They need their ID card to release printing.

 

I'd certainly get rid of the class machines! (Unless the teachers want to buy their own toner and paper and keep 'em until they die).

[Guest Guest]

We're a large junior and we actually went from having a mono and colour printer in each year group to a printer in each classroom. Teachers do the majority of their copying and printing on a Konica Minolta MFD in the staff room but then if they need to do some light printing or children need to print they can print to their classroom printer. Print costs are the same for either option and we're running PaperCut MF.

[witch]

We are a three form entry junior and I have removed all printers except for the MFD in the repro area, one printer in the IT suite and one in the staff workroom.

Makes my life SO much easier as the MFD is leased.

 

Since we amalgamated the network they can also search for and print to the MFD in the office. They don't tend to though.

 

I suppose it depends how far the teachers have to walk. Ours got used to it quite quickly and like the fact that they can send a TA to print out their stuff and it won't print until the buttons are pressed.

Definitely less waste now too

[elsiegee40]

We are a three form entry junior and I have removed all printers except for the MFD in the repro area, one printer in the IT suite and one in the staff workroom.

Makes my life SO much easier as the MFD is leased.

 

Since we amalgamated the network they can also search for and print to the MFD in the office. They don't tend to though.

 

I suppose it depends how far the teachers have to walk. Ours got used to it quite quickly and like the fact that they can send a TA to print out their stuff and it won't print until the buttons are pressed.

Definitely less waste now too

 

That's what we did for an even smaller prep school. If teachers wished to bring in their own local printer, I would install it but they had to sign an undertaking that all maintenance and consumables were their problem. One or two did at first, but soon abandoned it

[thimon]

Thank you guys, this has been really helpful. One of the MFD's was past its lifespan which is why we delayed doing this, however we're getting a replacement over summer so there should be no need for classroom printers. As always you've all been amazing!

[dry]

2x MFDs forcing locked print for all jobs. Jobs are deleted after 72 hours if not collected.

 

We're thinking about removing classroom printers- due to them starting to feel their age and requiring repair/replacement.

 

Our MFD lease company has suggested some Ricoh lasers to replace the classroom printers, which also accept locked prints, but I'm of the opinion we should get rid of all 'small' printers and MAYBE think about another MFD if we're struggling.

 

Large primary here.

[TwistedHelixis]

All my primary schools (large and small) have removed all class printers and now just print to MFD's.

[elsiegee40]

Thank you guys, this has been really helpful. One of the MFD's was past its lifespan which is why we delayed doing this, however we're getting a replacement over summer so there should be no need for classroom printers. As always you've all been amazing!

 

Double install the MFD. Set up one install as Mono and the other as Colour. Make the Mono default. Makes it easy for people to switch to colour if they need it and in the meantime saves money too.

 

Have staff printing set to be released only on entering of a PIN.

a) This helps with data protection - you don't have confidential stuff being spat out without a staff member there to remove it - that's how you market it to SLT.

 

b) The stuff they don't actually care about doesn't get printed and waste toner and reams of paper. This saves money

[AlanD]

In short No. I don't think you should take away printers from the classroom. I think teachers are generally busy - really busy and are not "free" to wander off to get an extra print out - or even perhaps an occasional forgotten class set of print outs. Anything that can be done to make it easier and more convenient for them should be met within reason. Monochrome laser printers are really cheap to run - and often run well on "compatible" toners - we don't find toner sticks quite as well to the paper in some cases. It also provides some "redundancy" when the main printers/copiers break down. Now I'm all for reducing costs and questioning whether this or that really needed printing, but I don't think it is the role of any IT manager to take away the facility. It might be the role of the headmaster or SLT...but not of the ICT team.

 

I particularly dislike offers from printing companies to "reduce your printing costs"....when what they really mean is "reduce your printing". Typically if a teacher requires and will make good use of a 30 worksheets it is not for us to remove that facility or make it more difficult for them by making them walk halfway around the school and back to save 10 pence on that print job. I know printing adds up....and there lies the difficulty....but a teacher's time costs money too.

 

By all means encourage teaching staff to use the most economic print method and ask them to print class sets in advance (and not to include unnecessary additional copies in that print run). Help them by offering to do the printing/copying for them - especially if it can be printed as an A5 booklet stapled rather than A4 sheets...or get the secretary to offer this service for them.

 

...but if they then need an extra 2 worksheets at the start of the class because someone messed up - don't take away their printer to prevent them. Its a good thing they can print what they want there and then without wasting their time.

 

By all means "log" printing using printer credits but don't use that as a means to restrict whet they need - because that would be hindering the education they are providing.

 

By all means encourage - and if necessary twist their arm to be be organised to do the printing in advance...

 

But honestly....the difference betwenn monochrome cost per page on a printer in the classroom and a large central printer cannot make much difference and certainly not worth the inconvenience to staff.

 

I think this is a case of ICT staff getting above themselves and forgetting they are in the school to provide a service. Yes, an economic service and a cost effective service - but not to make decisions as to what staff can can can't do.

 

Risograph printers (essentially inkjets) are probably the cheapest way of printing - possibly less than half othe last of running a laser - BUT - the quality is medicore compared to a laser and the initial purchase cost is eye watering.

 

In what way are classroom printers a nightmare to manage? I find a litte education goes a long way. Often teachers try to add paper while printing is taking place....that is always a mistake and will cause a printer jam. Show them that removing the existing paper in the middle of a print run does not break anything, add more paper and return the tray and printing continues. Show them how to lift the toner out to easily remove a paper jam. Warn them not to go tearing off jammed paper - and not to poke a screwdriver into the fuser roller. And allow them to print to classroom next to them so that when there is a jam they are happy to wat for you to clear it later.

 

...Really shocked at you thinking it would be OK to remove these printers....sounds like a real asset.

[LeMarchand]

@AlanD

 

I strongly disagree that it's a "power trip" by IT staff. Especially as most of us don't have the authority to remove printers and this would be done with consultation with/permission from SMT.

 

Whilst I disagree with many of your points, I'll just say that while I've never had lasers in classes (went from expensive/unreliable inkjets to central devices) for a "true" comparison with your setup, since instituting "hold print" MFDs I only see the odd few sheets printed and left by the machine. Prior to that machines had reams of printing left by them - wasting paper, toner and (probably most expensive of all) time.

[elsiegee40]

@AlanD

 

I strongly disagree that it's a "power trip" by IT staff. Especially as most of us don't have the authority to remove printers and this would be done with consultation with/permission from SMT.

 

Whilst I disagree with many of your points, I'll just say that while I've never had lasers in classes (went from expensive/unreliable inkjets to central devices) for a "true" comparison with your setup, since instituting "hold print" MFDs I only see the odd few sheets printed and left by the machine. Prior to that machines had reams of printing left by them - wasting paper, toner and (probably most expensive of all) time.

Added to that we simply didn't have the budget to fund printers in classrooms. AlanD clearly has a wealthier establishment.

[thimon]

Thank you @AlanD for your well thought out reply.

 

For us it's a mixture of time and money. We haven't got overly reliable printers in the classrooms to begin with, Brother HL-2035 for the most part, I think they're just showing their age, forever coming up with error lights on them and having to do weird combinations like holding down the power button and pressing it a select amount of times to reset the drum / toner counter, paper jams etc. Only the other day we had a member of staff bin both the old toner AND the drum unit, so when I went down to replace the toner there was nothing I could do, had to order a new drum unit and make a second trip a few days later.

 

It does also come down to money with us, our IT budget is stretched as it is and we're finding it not cheap to run all these printers, it all adds up.

 

We've held off for a while as one of the MFD's like I said is on it's last leg and it didn't feel fair to take away their printers when the alternative was a printer that can jam a lot. However with us getting a replacement over summer there will be 2 perfectly usable heavy duty MFD's at their disposal. We're keeping printers in rooms that are quite a walk from the MFD's, however rooms that are near them will no longer have classroom printers. With Secure Print and hopefully PaperCut MF soon printing confidential jobs is not an issue.

 

The previous school that I worked in didn't have classroom printers in any rooms and it wasn't an issue, I believe it's just a behaviour adjustment.

 

I see and understand both sides of the argument, I just don't believe it can carry on with time and budget constraints as it is (in our school at least).