University of Nottingham to save 25% of £2m annual printing costs

The five year contract will also allow the University to reduce the amount of paper it prints, which is currently up to 80 million sheets a year, by some 30 to 40 percent.

Computerworld UK spoke to Jim Reed, the University's director of procurement, who explained that by replacing 3,700 devices with 500 multifunction devices (MFDs) and 200 desktop printers, Nottingham's staff will be able to better manage their printing requirements.

"We currently have a whole bunch of devices, copiers and personal printers, all on single contracts, on all the time, firing up huge amounts of ink-jet ink, and consuming lots of power. We are moving to MFDs on a single contract, which are all managed centrally, and all the paper and toner is from a single provider and provided on demand," said Reed.

"With 90 buildings and 7,000 staff, you can imagine the stock piling that has taken place - it's colossal. This contract is all about just-in-time consumables, a reduction in paper, achieving economies of scale and reducing our output."

Reed explained that the University will be able to reduce 10 percent of its paper output simply by deleting printing jobs that people forget to collect, through the use of swipe card technology.