Why More Schools Are Switching to Managed Print Services and How It’s Saving Them Thousands
When it comes to education, every penny counts. With tight budgets, rising operational costs and increasing demands on staff, schools are under more pressure than ever to do more with less.
That is why many schools are making the switch to Managed Print Services, achieving significant cost savings and efficiency gains as a result.
The Hidden Cost of School Printing
Printing is a daily necessity in schools, from worksheets to lesson plans and administrative documents – print volumes can be high and difficult to control. What many schools don’t realise is just how much their current print setup is costing them – not just in terms of paper and toner but also in maintenance, downtime, energy usage, and administrative time.
When you consider outdated or mismatched devices, uncontrolled print volumes and manual ordering of supplies, all of these things can lead to unnecessary spending. In fact, many schools are operating without a clear picture of what they are actually printing or how much it is costing. Often, printing costs are hidden within general budgets, making it difficult to track or manage effectively. This lack of visibility can lead to inefficiencies that grow over time, slowly eating into budgets that could be better spent elsewhere.
What Is Managed Print and How Does It Work?
Managed Print Services are about more than just fixing printers – at Parallel; we provide complete print solutions tailored to the specific needs of your school.
Here is what that includes:-
- A full audit of your current setup
- Recommendations on the right devices for your environment
- Consolidation of machines to reduce waste and improve efficiency
- Automated supply replenishment
- Secure printing and user authentication
- Ongoing maintenance, monitoring, and support
With a Managed Print Service in place, everything is managed for you – your staff don’t need to chase supplies, deal with breakdowns or worry about print security. Instead, you get a reliable and efficient system that supports the smooth operation of your school day. Additionally, your IT teams benefit from fewer support tickets and fewer interruptions, regaining time wasted on managing outdated devices or troubleshooting user issues.
One significant benefit of our Parallel Managed Print for Schools service is that we offer a preventative maintenance service during the school holidays to ensure your machines are ready to go when staff return. Printers that sit idle over the summer often encounter problems when teachers come back to school, and all begin printing at once. We check and service the devices ahead of time so that your team isn’t met with frustrating delays or downtime on the first day of the new term.
Saving that Impact
The cost savings of Managed Print Services are both immediate and longer-term. We’ve successfully helped schools to:-
- Cut their print spend by up to 40%
- Reduce paper usage through smarter print rules
- Avoid the need for emergency supply orders
- Minimise downtime and reduce reliance on internal IT support
For many schools, this means re-directing the budget back into classrooms, technology, or staff development. It’s not just about saving money; it’s about making every pound work harder for you.
Managed Print Services also bring an environmental benefit; we automatically enrol all of our customers in the PrintReleaf programme, which offsets your paper usage by planting trees around the world, sending a great message to students, staff, and parents.
Why Schools Choose Parallel
At Parallel, we understand the pressures schools face, and we build our service around simplicity, transparency, and ongoing support. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all, and we work closely with each school to understand their specific requirements and design a solution that fits exactly what you need.
From multi-site academies to small primary schools, our clients love the peace of mind that comes with having a fully managed print environment. They know we are just a phone call away if something goes wrong and that we are proactively monitoring their setup to prevent issues before they happen. We also provide clear reporting, allowing schools to easily track how their print habits are changing and identify areas for further savings.
Are You Ready to Review Your School’s Print Setup?
If you’re planning ahead for the next academic year, now is the perfect time to review your print environment. Our free print audit will show you exactly where you could be saving money, improving efficiency, and freeing up time for your staff.
We can help you to take the hassle out of printing and save your school thousands in the process.