A £1million print upgrade at two university campuses in Cornwall has the full backing of digital technology giant Konica Minolta.
Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall share and jointly manage the Penryn Campus in Cornwall in an arrangement that is considered pioneering in UK Higher Education.
The universities have made this significant investment in print production after their reprographics department’s most successful year ever providing services to students and staff across the shared Penryn Campus and Falmouth University’s campus in Falmouth town.
This upgrade has been led by the universities’ reprographics department, which is part of Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus), their shared service delivery partner in Cornwall.
Benefiting from Konica Minolta’s acclaimed business development Digital1234 programme, the reprographics department has been able to reinvest profits back into other projects that will benefit students and staff, and is now in a final push to underpin a world-class print facility with the latest web technology. At its heart will be a Digital Print Store portal that will transform the way in which students and staff link in print to other cross-media applications.
Konica Minolta first installed a batch of multi- functional devices (MFDs) in August 2012 as part of a printroom refresh. It has been a main driver and adviser throughout the implementation of an overall business plan that has helped to drive down costs dramatically and increase profitability. Duplo finishing systems, Epson wide format and other high volume print systems have also been provided.
The latest addition to the universities’ firepower is through the introduction of greater flexibility, personalisation and more colour output with an investment in a bizhub PRESS C1060 production press that has been set up in a fully modernised reprographics department.
Mark Willey, Print Services Manager at the Penryn Campus, said: “The ongoing support from Konica Minolta has been vital. To introduce a Digital Print Store will be another massive step forward for us. It will transform the way in which students and staff order print from us and be a massive generator of external work. It will also provide other benefits such as savings in time and ensure that we maximise our usage of the bizhub PRESS C1060 print production press.
“Thanks to the savings and efficiencies we’ve made, we’ve just had our best year to date. We made a profit, which has enabled us to reduce printing prices for students. This is just one of the many reasons why our university partners score so highly in student experience league tables and satisfaction surveys. Everything we do has the interests of students as its primary focus.”
He added: “We’ve looked at other systems, but Konica Minolta is seen as the clear technology leader and we’ve been delighted with the support and expertise that are helping us to deliver exceptional results.”
Mark Hinder, Head of Market Development, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe, said: “Backed by our Digital 1234 platform to help grow business opportunities, we are working closely in partnership with Falmouth University, the University of Exeter and FX Plus in other business approaches that will help students and staff as we continue to provide added value throughout.”
