Change in printing to reduce waste and improve efficiency
27 November 2018
From March 2019 all printing at the University of Auckland will be activated by Campus Card identity and access cards.
From March 2019 all printing at the University of Auckland will be activated by Campus Card identity and access cards. ‘Follow Me’ print is a roaming print service that only prints a document when the user is at the printer, helping to eliminate unnecessary printing and waste.
The introduction of Follow Me printing is a part of the overall goal of reducing paper use and building a sustainable University. The functionality, which has been in place for students for over 5 years, will now be extended to staff.
“For sustainability the great thing about this type of managed printing is the information it gives us,” said project lead Ken Wickenden. “Information to help better understand costs, analyse usage patterns, and information to manage our resources more efficiently.
“While the University has seen a marked decrease in printing in the last five years, and is ahead of its overall goal to reduce usage, when ‘Follow Me’ printing is rolled out to staff we expect to see another 10 percent reduction in paper consumption.” Other benefits expected are, a reduction in the number of printers needed, and a reduction in electricity and toner use.
This is an area where the University has not kept up with technology, now with a print policy and a print framework - we can move forward.
Ken says the biggest upside for staff is flexibility to print to the closest available printer. “Push print from a desktop or mobile device and as soon as you walk up to a printer and tap your access card the job can be delivered to where you are. If a single printer is unavailable you can print anywhere there is a Follow Me printer.”
He says that over the next few months, “The University will be working to migrate all staff to a blue Campus Card.”
How Follow Me printing works:
- Click print from your computer
- Your print job is held until you are ready to collect it.
- Tap your Campus Card at any printer in the university network (not necessarily your normal one) and your list of print jobs will display for you to print or delete.
- At the end of the day any print jobs you have not fulfilled will be wiped from the
queue.
Don’t have a Campus Card? Complete the Campus Card Request Form