Toshiba TEC’s erasable toner technology gets top marks at Millfields Community School
Located in Hilsea Street in the London Borough of Hackney, Millfields Community School has come a long way in recent years and is now widely recognised as one of the most improved educational establishments in the country. Much larger than an average primary school, Millfields’ 750 pupils represent a very wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
Although pupils and teachers inhabit a four storey building that was originally constructed in 1895, what goes on inside is very much of the present, thanks to its state-of-the art facilities. Sustainability is a key part of everyday life at Millfields and as a UNICEF Rights Respecting School it does all it can to provide a cleaner, equitable and more sustainable environment. To that end it has invested in a wide range of infrastructure improvements including high performance windows and solar PV panels, which fulfilled a long standing ambition of the school to take a step into renewable energy production with a proven green technology.
As part of this sustainability based agenda, Stefania Antoniazzi, Business Manager at Millfields Community School, felt that something needed to be done to reduce the amount of waste paper that was being generated. She explains, ‘Excess printing is a huge financial burden on educational institutions like ours and the majority of paper waste occurred from users printing to a device and then forgetting, or simply not bothering, to collect their documents. This resulted in a huge amount of wastage that had to be addressed.’
Antoniazzi’s first port of call was Westerham based Direct Tec, an independent supplier of total office solutions that has worked with Millfields for a number of years. Simon Riley, the company’s Sales Director, comments, ‘We have a department that is dedicated to clients in the education sector and the situation at Millfields was by no means unique. After speaking to Stefania to ascertain what she was seeking to achieve, I was certain that a new fleet of multifunction products (MFPs) from Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems would fit the bill. To assess the most suitable devices, I suggested a visit to Toshiba TEC’s showroom in London, where the full range is on display, so she could compare and contrast various features and benefits.’
It was while on this visit that Antoniazzi was introduced to the e-STUDIO306LP, featuring unique erasable toner technology, and the associated e-STUDIO RD30 eraser unit. As well looking like a typical MFP and using standard copier paper, it has one massive difference – when used paper is fed into the eraser unit it heats the ink, virtually erasing the print and providing a blank sheet to use again. Just as importantly, if the same piece is used five times paper usage is cut by up to 80 per cent, saving huge amounts of money.
Antoniazzi was immediately impressed and felt that Millfields’ administration department would benefit from having one of these pioneering MFPs. Shortly afterwards the e-STUDIO306LP/ RD30 was delivered and the benefits have been immediate. Antoniazzi states, ‘Integrating it into our day-to-day operations couldn’t have been easier and it means that we can monitor the recycling of the paper, which we have been able to reuse up to 10 times. What's more, Toshiba TEC also provided a number of Pilot FriXion ball pens, which also have erasable ink, so that we can recycle annotated documents and even exam papers.’
In addition to the e-STUDIO306LP/ RD30, and as part of the same fleet, Millfields is also benefitting from a number of other MFPs from Toshiba TEC including e-STUDIO6540CSE, 2550CSE and 3555C models. To reduce paper wastage and change behaviour patterns, they have all been supplied with pull printing technology. This allows someone to send an item to be printed, which joins a print queue. The user then employs swipe card technology to access their documents via any chosen networked MFP, thereby keeping their documents secure. Users also have the ability to delete a specific print command if necessary.
Simon Riley also recommended the use of the PaperCut print management solution, which facilitates the tracking of printing, copying and scanning activities by user, device or department. He explains, ‘By collecting data via a print server it lets administrators monitor usage patterns and costs, and take appropriate action when necessary. The ability to implement quotas and restrict where certain types of printing can take place has been proven to facilitate significant cost savings.’
The e-STUDIO MFPs all comply with Toshiba TEC’s strict environmental policy by incorporating innovative features such as a toner recycling system, which ensures absolutely no toner goes to waste, resulting in a considerable reduction in consumed resources. Additionally, as part of its pioneering Carbon Zero Scheme, the company guarantees that all carbon emissions produced during the manufacture of each MFP are entirely offset.
Since April 2014, when the installation was completed, the savings have been impressive. Millfields Community School’s Stefania Antoniazzi, concludes, ‘As well as having to reduce our regular paper order, we worked out that the print jobs sent but not released had a value of £1,483. This equates to 39,000 sheets of paper that we didn't use and we have estimated that we will save in excess of £128,000 over the next three years – money which can be reinvested to provide our pupils with an even better learning environment.’
Toshiba TEC has produced a demonstration video of its erasable toner technology in action and you can see this amazing new product for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r--y9VvSTyg
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