Ricoh Solutions for Education

In-plants operate under a demanding dual mandate to provide valuable and timely print services for the parent organization while tightly controlling costs. Increasingly, in-plants are taking a centralized role in managing and servicing the fleet of enterprise printers spread throughout the organization. Every initiative must be successfully audited and tracked so costs can be charged back appropriately to the initiating user and department.

Making the in-plant a hub of the organizational print operations requires technology that can scale efficiently while meeting the needs of many users. Robust and reliable multifunction printers (MFPs) must withstand the demands of thousands of printed pages without malfunctioning for individual departments. With many MFPs deployed across the organization, the in-plant needs a way to monitor their performance remotely, order supplies, and monitor maintenance requests. Within the main print center, the needs are different, and the equipment’s speed, quality, and flexibility are essential. Since the in-plant supports a variety of print applications, the equipment must support many finishing requirements like stapling, hole punching, and various binding methods.

For in-plants at the center of their organizations, Ricoh offers time-tested solutions to enhance enterprise and production print operations. Leveraging Ricoh services, software, and print technology, in-plants can provide print services that rival the quality of commercial printers with better turnaround times and costs for the organization. With a long-standing presence in enterprise printing, Ricoh provides solutions to centralize, manage, and optimize a fleet of office-based printers — firmly establishing the in-plant printing department as the hub for all print operations.

Oregon State University (OSU), known for its academic excellence and environmental initiatives, collaborated with Ricoh to streamline its printing infrastructure. The university needed a partner to streamline its fleet of office printers and boost the productivity and capabilities of its central print center.

OSU aimed to reduce the complexity of the multi-vendor fleet of office printers. There were hundreds, but only 15% were networked. The lack of network connectivity significantly hindered efficient tracking, maintenance, and accounting of chargebacks. They needed a new strategy to manage document output more effectively, incorporating fewer devices, consistent chargebacks, and a service-based model. For the print center, OSU needed modern devices capable of handling a wide range of substrates, flexible finishing, and great print quality to support the many applications requested by students and faculty.

Improving campus-wide print operations required a technology partner capable of providing services, software, equipment, and support. OSU found that partner in Ricoh. The results of the office printer migration were significant: a reduction in service calls, simplified supply replenishment, and streamlined chargeback administration through RICOH’s @Remote Enterprise Pro software solution for over 480+ distributed MFPs. The ENERGY STAR® rated MFPs contributed to a 30% reduction in energy costs, supplemented by Ricoh’s toner recycling program. The success of the program led to OSU’s Printing and Mailing Services extending their cost-per-copy model to the local school district, mirroring the successful chargeback system applied on campus.

The central print center results were equally impressive. The installation of the Ricoh Pro C901 color production printers enhanced the print center’s capabilities by supporting a broader range of media and finishing options than the previous solution. Now, the print center is completing more jobs in-house than ever before.