Taking control with a predictable print solution from XMA

Thanks to IT provider XMA, Holmesdale Technology College has taken control of its printing solution, driving down costs and wastage and delivering a better experience for its staff and students.

ICT is important for many schools but, when you have technology college status, only the highest standards count. Consequently, since achieving that status two years ago, Holmesdale Technology College has strived to ensure its ICT systems offer the best for both pupils and staff.

As the school completed a major project to improve buildings and install new structured networking and cabling, federation ICT strategy manager Gareth Waghorn was also developing new ICT strategies. One of those was to implement an enhanced printing solution.

The school already had some printers in its IT rooms and the library, and staff members were each using a small printer in their individual offices. However, Mr Waghorn knew improvements were necessary.

He explains: “ICT is incredibly important here. The head teacher’s goal is one-to-one access so we have a scheme which aims to give everyone at the school access to a laptop. Because of that, our students couldn’t print anywhere, so we approached XMA to look at a print solution.

” The result was eight new laser jet printers, which can also photocopy, in a mix of A4 mono and A4 colour plus an A3 colour printer for the graphic design department. However, as well enabling students to print easily, Mr Waghorn also took the opportunity to take control of the college’s print management by introducing the Follow Me package which enables students to roam using a wireless network and then print out at any printer they choose.

“We put a printer in on every floor,” he explains. “When they want to print, students walk up to the printer and punch in their unique six digit code and all their work, which has been held in the secure document server, gets printed in one go.”

Better management and greater accountability

For Holmesdale, tackling management issues which had previously caused problems was a major advantage. Mr Waghorn says: “Each student is given a quantity of 300 credits a week and each page costs a certain number of credits. The more they print the more credits they use so it makes them think about what they are printing and whether they really need it. It gives us the ability to monitor and control what they are doing too.”

It’s not just the 600 students who are monitored either. He explains: “It’s also a benefit from a staffing point of view. Under this system, members of staff have unlimited access to printers and pay a nominal fee for each page but, at the end of the month, we create statements and charge it to individual departments. So we now have accountability for printing from our staff too.”

Wastage down and predictable costs

Already the cost benefits of the new solution have proved striking. Mr Waghorn says: “We used to have people printing out at will. Next to the printers in the ICT rooms you’d end up with a big pile of unclaimed paper. It was a complete and utter waste.”

“The wastage has got to have come down by 70 to 75 per cent, particularly because we can now ban Internet printing.”

Mr Waghorn also recognises the advantages of predicting costs. “They used to go through two or three cartridges a week in the design and technology room,” he says. “The costs were through the roof. In fact, one of the key drivers for the solution was that we could budget across the year for the toner we use.”

A trusted supplier

Like many schools, Holmesdale Technology College looks to its local education authority for advice with suppliers. With XMA recommended by Kent County Council, the company was sure of a professional service. Mr Waghorn says: “We had a meeting with XMA and went through what we wanted. Their solution ticked every box. It was a no-brainer.”

“Since then, the relationship has worked really well. Inevitably, there were a few teething problems but my account manager was great. He was here for two or three days and then rang me every other day to check it was successful. We’ve had no issues.”

A recommendation for the future

In fact, the solution was so successful Mr Waghorn asked XMA to deploy a similar implementation with the Malling School, a school federated with the college. He says: “It’s worked so well, we are in the process of deploying it at our sister site. There’s no better recommendation than that.”