Printing is still a big part of everyday life in schools. Teachers print worksheets, lesson plans, tests, and classroom materials. Administrative staff print forms, records, schedules, and parent communications. School offices may go through thousands of pages each month, so when budgets get tight, the obvious advice is often: print less. But that’s not always realistic. The better question is not how to stop printing, but how can schools reduce printing costs while continuing to print what they need. With the right print management approach, schools can reduce waste, control expenses, and get more value from their existing equipment without asking teachers and staff to give up the printed materials they rely on. Let’s go over some ways to get started.
1. Know Where Your Printing Money Is Going
Before diving into solutions, it helps to understand where the money actually goes. School printing costs come from more than just paper and ink. They include:
- Equipment maintenance and repairs
- Toner and ink replacement
- Energy consumption
- IT staff time spent troubleshooting printer issues
- Waste from unclaimed or unnecessary print jobs
Start by looking at:
- How many pages each device prints
- Which devices have the highest print volumes
- How much you spend on toner and other supplies
- How often equipment requires service
- How many printers and copiers are in use
- Whether devices are being used efficiently
- Which departments or locations are responsible for the most printing
Once you have this information, you can start identifying where the biggest opportunities for savings are.
2. Stop Treating Every Printer the Same
Not every area of a school has the same printing needs. A classroom teacher might print a few hundred pages a month, while the main office may print thousands. A library may have completely different requirements from an administrative department. Yet schools sometimes use similar devices across different areas without considering how each one is actually being used. That can lead to unnecessary costs. For example, a small desktop printer might seem inexpensive because of its initial price. But if it requires frequent toner replacements and cannot handle the department’s print volume efficiently, it may cost more over time. The goal is to match the right equipment to the right workload. High-volume areas may benefit from a centralized multifunction printer, while lower-volume areas may only need a smaller device.
3. Consider Centralized Printing
Schools often have printers scattered throughout classrooms, offices, and departments. That can be convenient, but it can also make school printer costs harder to control. More devices mean more toner to manage, more equipment to maintain, and more opportunities for supplies to sit unused in individual locations. Centralizing some printing can help schools simplify their print environment. For example, instead of maintaining several aging devices that each handle a small amount of printing, a school could strategically place multifunction printers where staff can easily access them. A centralized approach can also make it easier to monitor usage and manage supplies. This does not mean eliminating every printer in the building, but being more intentional about where devices are located and what purpose each one serves.
4. Make Duplex Printing the Default
Switching to double-sided printing as the default setting is one of the simplest changes a school can make, and it can cut paper usage nearly in half. Many printers still ship with single-sided printing as the default, so staff must manually select duplex printing every time. By flipping this setting at the network level, you can ensure that double-sided printing happens automatically unless someone specifically overrides it. This small technical adjustment requires no behavior change from teachers and staff, which makes it one of the easiest wins available. You can also encourage employees to use print preview before sending a document to the printer. Catching an extra blank page or formatting issue before printing is much cheaper than discovering it afterward.
5. Reduce Unnecessary Color Printing
Color printing has its place in education. A teacher may need color graphics for a lesson. A school may want certain parent communications or marketing materials to look polished. But not every document needs to be in color. Routine documents such as internal forms, drafts, meeting notes, and many administrative records can often be printed in black and white. Consider setting black-and-white printing as the default and allowing employees to select color when it is actually needed. This gives staff flexibility without making color printing the automatic choice.
6. Look Beyond the Cost of the Copier
When schools purchase or lease printing equipment, it is easy to focus on the upfront price. But the purchase price is only part of the equation. A lower-priced device may not always be the least expensive option over its lifetime. You also need to consider the cost of toner, maintenance, service, repairs, and the volume of printing the device can handle. This is why schools should look at the total cost of ownership rather than simply asking, “How much does this copier cost?” A device that costs a little more upfront but handles high-volume printing efficiently and requires less frequent service could ultimately provide better value.
7. Use Print Management to Get Better Visibility
One of the biggest challenges with school printing is simply knowing what is happening. Which devices are being used the most? Which ones are barely being used? Which departments are printing the most? Are some devices constantly running out of toner? School print management tools can provide this type of visibility. Instead of relying on guesswork, administrators can use print data to make better decisions about equipment, supplies, and budgets. This can help identify opportunities to consolidate devices, move equipment, adjust settings, or replace inefficient printers. The more you know about your print environment, the easier it becomes to manage it.
8. Consider Managed Print Services
For schools that do not have the time or resources to manage their entire print environment internally, managed print services for schools can provide another option. Managed print services, or MPS, is a solution where a third-party provider, such as AD Solutions, monitors, maintains, and optimizes a school’s entire print environment. Instead of juggling multiple vendors, warranties, and supply orders, schools work with one partner who handles it all. Depending on the program, services may include equipment management, maintenance, toner monitoring, service support, and reporting. Instead of waiting for a printer to break or toner to run out, MPS helps schools identify and address potential issues before they disrupt daily operations. This can make school printing more predictable and reduce the amount of time staff spend dealing with printer-related problems.
9. Replace Aging Equipment Strategically
Old printers and copiers can become expensive to maintain. They may require frequent service, use supplies inefficiently, or simply struggle to keep up with the demands of a busy school. That does not mean every older device needs to be replaced immediately. Instead, look at your fleet as a whole. Identify the devices that generate the most service calls, have the highest operating costs, or no longer meet your school’s needs. Replacing those devices first can make more financial sense than replacing everything at once. A strategic replacement plan can help schools make better use of limited technology budgets.
10. Utilize Print Quotas
Print quotas often get a bad reputation because people assume they mean rationing. In reality, well-designed quotas simply create accountability.
For example, a school might set a reasonable monthly quota for staff printing based on historical usage, with an easy process for requesting more when needed for legitimate classroom purposes. This approach discourages unnecessary printing (think: printing an entire email chain instead of just the relevant page) without ever telling a teacher they can’t print materials students need. Students can also benefit from a quota system, particularly in high schools and libraries where printing access is shared. Allocating a set number of free pages per semester, with a small fee for additional pages, tends to reduce frivolous printing while keeping essential resources accessible.
Printing Smarter Can Save More Than Printing Less
At AD Solutions, we help schools take a closer look at their print environment and find practical ways to improve efficiency and control costs. From multifunction printers to Managed Print Services, the right solution can help your school get more from its printing budget. Want to see where your school could save? Contact us to explore your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can managed print services help schools save money?
Managed Print Services can help schools monitor print activity, manage supplies, maintain equipment, and identify opportunities to improve efficiency. This gives schools better visibility into their printing environment and can make printing expenses more predictable.
- Is managed print services only for large school districts?
No. Managed print services can be scaled for schools of any size, from single-building elementary schools to large multi-campus districts. Providers tailor the solution based on the number of devices and print volume.
- What should schools consider when choosing a copier or printer?
Schools should look beyond the initial equipment price. Print volume, speed, features, toner costs, maintenance, service, security, and total cost of ownership should all factor into the decision. The right device should match the needs of the department or location using it.
