UK Goes Green With New Printing Program

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 11, 2011) − Imagine 130 million pieces of paper, laid out end-to-end. The paper trail would stretch for more than 22,500 miles, nearly around the globe. That's how many pieces of paper the University of Kentucky bought last year.

UK is announcing a new program to change that. The program, called Managed Print Services (MPS), partners UK with IKON Office Solutions, Inc. to reduce the university's carbon footprint and cut costs by managing its printing needs. IKON will do an assessment of each university department, and will make recommendations on the number of printers, fax machines, scanners, copiers and other output devices the office needs.

“I’m pleased to see our university leaders thinking creatively about cutting costs and reducing our carbon footprint,” said UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. “We all use printers, fax machines, copiers and other output devices in our daily work at UK. That means we can all make a difference through this program.”

Industry standards recommend one printer for every 12 employees, for example, while UK currently averages about one device for each employee. IKON will then provide and service the department's output devices on a contract basis.

“This program begins at a time when both sustainability and cost-cutting measures are extremely important to the UK community,” said UK CIO Vince Kellen. “I’m proud to say that the Managed Print Services project addresses both issues, in a way that will increase the university’s green initiative and efficiency.”

Entering the program is not mandatory for UK departments, but offices stand to save money and gain efficiency through participation. Currently every unit at UK buys devices and supplies as needed, but the MPS program can cut energy costs, lower the cost of owning devices and streamline the process of getting new equipment when needed. The MPS program will lower the cost of owning and using output devices for UK departments by providing a single price per impression (one for black and one for color). UK departments will no longer need to buy their own equipment.

“With this program, everyone in the UK community can play a part in reducing costs and ensuring sustainability,” said Bill Harris, purchasing director for UK. “We can make a big impact by analyzing and managing the way we print.”

The MPS program was developed by a team of representatives from the administrative, academic and medical areas of UK. “We are very proud of the team that selected a managed print solution for us,” said Tim Tarnowski, CIO of UK HealthCare Information Technology. “Their dedication and hard work will provide tremendous benefits to our organization. We are very pleased with the outcome of their analysis and look forward to moving this solution forward.”

IKON, a Ricoh Company, was chosen as the exclusive partner to manage the MPS program following a competitive bid process.

“We are pleased that the University of Kentucky has selected IKON for their Managed Print Services needs,” said Terrie Campbell, Vice President of Managed Document Services for Ricoh U.S.  “As a Ricoh company, IKON is a leader in managed services, and we help our customers manage documents more effectively and drive improvements in productivity, collaboration and performance. We look forward to a successful relationship with the University of Kentucky.”

More information will be available in the coming months about the program, its benefits and potential cost savings. An MPS project team will oversee the program’s implementation. The MPS program website, which includes an FAQ page, is available at www.uky.edu/MPS.

Pilot projects are underway and a complete project list is being developed. To have your department or area assessed for the MPS program or to discuss immediate equipment needs, please contact the MPS project team at UKMPS@uky.edu .