Print overhaul nets bus company 750% more pages per toner

ComfortDelgro and Cabcharge (CDC) has replaced its old printer fleet with new print devices and technologies. The company is saving 40% on its total monthly cost per copy fee and getting 15,000 pages per toner, compared to the 2000 of the previous system - an increase of 750%.

CDC operates the Hillsbus, Westbus, Deane’s Buslines and Hunter Valley buses services.

The company recently decided to evaluate its print requirements and replace its existing fleet with the latest print devices and technologies, as they were nearing obsolescence and were too costly to run and maintain.

CDC had many different models across 15 separate locations which were proving difficult to manage. In addition, the company did not have the right mix of equipment to meet its needs - numerous devices were rarely utilised, in particular the company’s costly A3 devices.

CDC’s main objective was to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of its equipment, as well as gaining better control of their document devices.

After a six-month evaluation process, Kyocera was selected rom a shortlist of six vendors to provide a managed print solution for CDC across its 15 sites in NSW.

Kyocera conducted an audit of CDC’s document equipment and its usage, identifying that CDC had a large number of A3 devices yet A3 printing was not actually required by many users. The results of this audit enabled Kyocera to propose a solution that would both meet the organisation’s needs and be cost-effective.

The solution simplified operations for CDC, taking it from a 15-site company with 13 different printer and copier models to a standardised platform with one model A4 mono MFP and an A3 colour MFD - the TASKalfa colour series - for use in the larger depots that had a greater need for A3 printing, higher volume output and document finishing features such as hole punching and stapling.

Kyocera’s web-based admin platform allows management of the MFDs and printers, providing a summary of all devices, alerting CDC to when toner or paper needs replacing and producing a simple usage report at the end of each month.

The solution “eliminated the need for us to do manual meter reading,” said John Mouawad, information technology manager, CDC. “This had been taking up an enormous amount of our time, calling each site and getting a reading for each individual machine. Now we just get emailed a monthly report showing our usage and get billed accordingly.”

The Managed Print Services (MPS) solution provides the same cost per copy charge (CPC) across all devices, regardless of whether printing on the smaller A4 MFP or printing to their workgroup MFD, decreasing costs significantly.

CDC is now achieving a toner yield of around 15,000 pages per toner compared to 2000 pages with their previous vendor.

“We have saved 40% on our total monthly cost per copy fee. We’ve simplified the fleet, have more reliable technology and it’s costing us less to run,” Mouawad said.