Printers for Education
Last Updated on March 2, 2023 by Christian Ralph
As education budgets come under increasing scrutiny, choosing the right printing solution has never been more important.
As technology evolves at a rapid pace so too have educational requirements.
With an ever-growing list of capabilities, modern technology is a vital tool in helping schools, universities and their students to meet and exceed their educational requirements.
Assisted Learning
As digital adoption continues to surge, printers in the classroom are more relevant now than ever.
Studies show that reading text on paper boosted comprehension compared to digital text, meaning the printer has proven itself as an invaluable learning aid.
With the growing trend of digital learning, homework and class assignments are increasingly transferred as electronic documents to the classroom printer.
Once transferred, the education professional can create hard copies for evaluation.
Educators can also use printers to scan and copy worksheets, print timetables and more.
However, with so many printers available on the market, finding the best printers for students that suit your specific educational needs can be a confusing task.
Whether it be printing off activity sheets for primary school students to providing a fleet of printers for a university, users must first consider their requirements.
Colour printers vs Mono printers?
Possibly the most important choice when choosing the right printer for your needs, the ability to print in colour or mono only is based on the needs of the educational department it will be used in.
Whereas the ability to print via a colour laser printer may be a necessity for producing classroom learning materials, a mono laser printer may meet the requirements of a school office printing text documents including high volumes of letters and permission slips.
Which printer is best: Laser or Inkjet?
Inkjet Printers
With inkjet printing better suited for educational establishments that require lower print volumes and higher image quality, inkjet printers may be better suited to primary schools and younger students.
Laser Printers
Designed to handle large print volumes at higher print speeds, laser printers are perfect for secondary and tertiary education environments. Providing lower overall print costs at higher print volumes, laser printers are better suited to text-heavy documents.
How to choose between single-function printers and multifunction printers
Single Function Printers
Despite their ability to print only, single-function printers can also boast a range of additional features including wireless printing and more.
Multifunction Printers
Offering more capabilities than just printing alone, multifunction printers offer a wide range of functional features for the classroom.
Better suited to secondary education settings, multifunction printers are available with a host of features and connectivity options. The ability to Print, Scan ,Copy and Fax in combination with wireless printing options means that education professionals can expand the learning experience.
Managed print services
Ever tightening educational budgets make the need for a cost-effective printing solution a necessity not a luxury.
When it comes to boosting efficiency and maximising budgets, a Managed Print Service can be an invaluable tool.
Providing a comprehensive solution to printing at scale, Managed Print Services are perfectly suited to educational settings.
How can managed print benefit users in the education sector?
It’ll reduce costs
With dwindling budgets pressuring the education sector, Managed Print Services can help educational establishments make the most of every penny.
Managed Print Services can cut print costs by up to 70% by boosting efficiency and providing a predictable, manageable payment framework.
Managed Print Services include a range of cost-saving smart features including the ability to set departmental budgets and web-based portals to allow monitoring of printers with in-depth statistics.
Educators can also implement cost-saving parameters such as restricting colour printing and mandatory double-sided printing.
With plans offering a fixed cost per page regardless of what is printed, users can stay in full control of their print costs.
It’ll boost security
With increasingly sophisticated online threats, educational establishments require cutting-edge software to protect against security breaches.
Pull printing means that prints are only created when they are ready to be collected, meaning no more sensitive documents are left unattended.
Security features can also include firmware validation, tamper-resistant print cartridges and more.
It offers flexible customisation
From classrooms to reprographics departments, educational settings require a wide breadth of requirements.
Managed Print Services are designed to be fully tailored to provide custom print solutions based on multiple factors.
Managed Print Services provide a wide gamut of print technologies for every aspect of educational printing.
Whilst a reprographics department may require a stationery MFP A3 printer for producing everything from banners to graphic designs, the school office may require a single-function mono laser printer to print high volumes of forms, letters etc.
No matter what your requirements are, a Managed Print Service can be tailored to any educational establishment’s needs.
It provides ease of use
When it comes to finding a print solution to suit your educational needs, ease of use is a key factor.
Managed Print Services provide a hassle-free solution to printing meaning education professionals can focus on teaching.
Proactive features such as automated supply replenishment ensure that users never run out of ink or toners.
On-site hardware support and maintenance mean reduced downtime and automated meter readings keep user intervention to a minimum.
It’ll offer environmental benefits
Managed Print Services allow implementation of a range of energy-saving printer features that benefit the environment including the ability to introduce specific print policies such as mandatory duplex printing to reduce paper wastage.
Pull printing also means that prints are only created when the user goes to collect them, reducing the number of non-collected prints.
Designated office hour detection means your printers automatically power down outside of working hours.
In addition to saving money, energy-saving features ensure carbon footprints are kept to a minimum.
It’ll offer you enhanced scalability
From primary schools to universities, Managed Print Services provide bespoke printing solutions designed for educational institutions of any size.
With the needs of educational establishments fluctuating from term to term, Managed Print Services are designed to organically grow and adapt to users’ needs.
With some Managed Print Services offering ongoing assessment and optimisation of services, your printing keeps pace with your needs.
What are the best printers for students?
Finding the right printer for college or university can be a difficult task, with various requirements for various disciplines.
To help we’ve compiled a list of the best printers for students.
