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Over £100k of savings is set to be generated by reducing the number of Multifunctional Devices (MFDs) currently in operation across the Council.

Working with colleagues in Business Support, the Procurement Team identified 15% of the Council’s leased machines - that can photocopy, scan and print - were underutilised.

By agreeing to return those MFDs, the team has been able to negotiate a cheaper lease that will save £115k over the next 12 months.

New software, which will support better printing practices and mobile and flexible working, will also be introduced as part of the three year deal that comes into effect this October. The software will provide the ability to track print jobs and offer ‘follow me print’ allowing employees to create a job in one building and print on arrival in another.

William McQuillian, Procurement & Commissioning Manager, and Project Manager of Procuring for the Future, said: “The MFDs we lease are capable of running off around 45 million copies each year and, much like buying a car, we want to ensure maximum use, so if a machine isn’t used fully it makes financial sense to downsize. By agreeing to take away underused MFDs we will be able to reduce the size of the fleet by around 15%.”

Already the Council has seen a reduction in the volume of printing and photocopying since introducing more environmentally friendly printing paper in February. In the first three months following the swap, the number of prints and photocopies run off across Services fell by 800k resulting in the number of boxes of paper purchased being reduced by 360.

William said: “With the reduced purchase price of the paper, and because we are buying and using less paper for photocopying and printing, we estimate over £40k will be saved for 2019/20. As more people start hot desking with dual screens and more processes become digitised people will also naturally print less which in turn will generate further savings.”

Think before you print

Before you press the print button, ask yourself: do I really need to print this document or could I save it and read it on my computer, tablet or phone? If you have to print, do you really need the document to be in colour? By asking these simple questions it could help reduce our environmental impact and save money.

Rules based printing

If you need to print remember to use the correct machine for the number of copies needed:

  • Desktop printer: 5 sheets
  • Service based MFD: 250 sheets
  • Reprographics rooms in all high schools: 750 sheets
  • Printworks: 750 sheets and above