General Committee
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	James Allen, Chief Information Officer Sheila Birrell, Town Clerk
	PREPARED BY:	Sugun Rao, Manager of Technology Frank Edwards, Manager of Administration
	DATE OF MEETING:	2005-11-07
	SUBJECT:	Print Strategy

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Corporate Print Strategy outlined below be approved;

· the existing walk-up analogue copiers, fax machines and some laser printers be replaced with digital multifunctional devices(MFDs) that have printing, copying, faxing and scanning abilities;

· certain convenience laser printers that have been identified for removal during the study not be removed at this time, but phased out over a period of time;

· the existing high speed copiers and colour copier in the print shop be replaced with networked black and white and colour devices and provide additional finishing equipment to provide a higher level of service and productivity;

AND FURTHER THAT the Corporate Printing Guidelines attached as Appendix “A” be approved.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to obtain Council approval for implementing the Corporate Print Strategy and the Corporate Printing Guidelines.

BACKGROUND:

In the fall of 2004, staff from ITS, Clerk’s and Purchasing met to establish a plan to review the town’s printing needs and develop a print strategy. The plan was to review and consolidate

processes and costs and to establish printing guidelines for the Corporation. Currently, the Town’s printers, fax machines and other networked equipment are administered by ITS and the photocopiers and print shop equipment by the Clerk’s Department. The purchasing and leasing of the equipment has been at different periods and times. The review has provided for a unified approach for the replacement of all the printing equipment. There are over 600 desktop and laptop computers, over 140 laser and inkjet printers, over 10 speciality printers including plotters and 36 walk-up photocopiers. The Town is currently leasing the photocopiers from Minolta Canada on a month-to-month basis and the Print Shop high-speed copiers and colour copier are on a month-to-month leasing agreement with Xerox.

A print strategy request for proposal, RFP 099-R-04, Needs Analysis was undertaken. The More Group was awarded the RFP. The More Group performed a review and needs analysis for the Town’s fleet of laser and ink jet printers, fax machines, photocopiers as well as the printing equipment for the Print Shop.

The scope of work included the performance of a print management study to determine the most cost effective method of printing and the development of a strategy that best fulfils the Town’s productivity and cost requirements. The strategy was to investigate the potential of reducing the current costs and increase employee productivity by providing printing, copying, scanning, faxing, scan to e-mail and LAN faxing through one piece of equipment, i.e. the Multifunctional Device (MFD).

The More Group conducted multiple Document Flow Analysis interviews at all the Town facilities to identify the print, photocopy, fax, colour requirements and scan opportunities per work group. In addition to the work groups; senior management, Commissioners, Directors and Members of Council were interviewed. The collected information was used to determine the requirements for each work group within each site. This included the best print migration solution for each group based on current costs and opportunities for cost reduction and improved efficiency. The type of equipment was then identified for each of the work groups which formed part of the specifications for RFP 075-R-05 for the replacement equipment. The information was also presented to the Department Head Forum on February 17, 2005 for comments and concurrence.

The Town contracted IKON Office Solutions, Inc to perform a peer review of the More Group, on the document output strategy and the proposed Corporate Printing Guidelines. IKON concurred that the Town was on the right track towards a more cost-effective and efficient office environment and that the print guidelines, attached as Appendix “A” comprised a very comprehensive document that addressed each of the areas necessary to embark on a well-planned, efficient print strategy.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

During the print strategy review, staff developed Corporate Print Guidelines, attached as Appendix “A”, to assist Town staff through the migration of corporate printing. The guidelines, together with a print management software tool, will assist staff through the print migration process by determining where to direct the print job (based on volume) to a laser printer, MFD or the Print Shop. The guidelines were established to reduce printing congestion at the MFDs, create cost savings, and reduce the use of paper across the town.

The cost analysis of black and white copying/printing (excluding paper costs) is as follows:

Print Shop	$0.0065 per impression
MFD	$0.009 per impression
Laser printer	$0.03 per impression(average cost based on 5% page coverage)

Based on this cost structure it is goal of the Print Strategy to minimize the output on laser printers and attempt to migrate printing to MFDs or the Print Shop (for larger jobs).

Highlights of the policy are as follows:

Policy Item	Expected Outcome
Print Drivers defaulted to duplex printing	This will reduce paper consumption by approximately 1 million pages/year (financial and environmental benefits)
Laser (HP) printers located in business areas should be used for print jobs of 1 to 10 pages in total	By limiting print jobs on laser printers, the Town will save money on toner
MFDs should be used for print and copy jobs up to 100 pages in total. Jobs with more than 100 pages should be directed to the Print Shop.	This will reduce congestion at the MFDs and result in minor cost savings ($1 per 400 pages)
Print jobs of 50 pages or more with a turnaround time of 1 day or more should be directed to the Print Shop	Same as above

These guidelines should be flexible enough to allow users to use their own discretion for time sensitive jobs.

Implementation-The roll out and initial training on the multifunctional devices will take approximately two months with the assistance of ITS and the vendor. A communications plan will be implemented to ensure a smooth transition. During the roll out period, additional in-classroom training will be made available by the vendor and an ITS trainer to assist town staff on maximizing all the functionalities of the equipment from their desktop computers.

Replacement of the Large Format Colour Printers in the Engineering Department will be on an as needed basis.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The replacement of the traditional photocopiers, printers and fax machines with MFDs will result in significant savings for the Town. Since an MFD has the capabilities of a photocopier, printer and fax machine, the purchase of these 40 MFDs will result in the reduction of 36 photocopiers, 31 printers and 33 fax machines across the Town. Assuming a five year replacement program, this equates to a capital savings of approximately $378,500 every replacement period. Operating costs for toner and maintenance are expected to decrease by approximately $8,000 per year as well. As the migration from the laser printers evolves, additional capital and operating savings to the corporation will also occur.

The purchase of more modern equipment for the Print Shop will result in savings of approximately $150,000 every replacement period with operating savings of approximately $60,000 per year. These savings will be the result of lower click charges (i.e. the cost per page charged by the vendor to compensate for toner, maintenance, etc.).

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

During the peer review, IKON provided an environmental analysis on the recommendations that the Town is planning to implement. The recommendations would reduce the power consumption for copiers, printers and fax machines by approximately $7000 per year. The Town would also be decreasing the CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by approximately 72,700 lbs per year. This amount of CO2 would require 987,500 square feet of forest to be absorbed.

The plan to set the default printer setting on the desktop computers to duplex printing will also represent financial and environmental savings. If the Town is successful in decreasing its paper usage by 600,000 pages per year from these efforts, it would be saving approximately $4,200 and 72 trees annually.

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix “A” – Corporate Printing Guidelines

Sheila Birrell, Town Clerk

Andy Taylor, Commissioner of Corporate Services

James Allen, Chief Information Officer