US schools have seen an influx of money through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program, which will have no doubt influenced budget planning for the upcoming school year.
However, ESSER funding is set to end in September 2024, and according to McKinsey, the looming prospect of a ‘fiscal cliff’ when the stimulus funding expires, could create financial challenges for some districts.
School budgets are already under strain as costs soar across the board. So, whether it’s teaching positions, textbooks, paper or even printer ink, districts will have to find ways to prioritize spend and save money to avert a budgetary crisis once ESSER has gone.
Budgeting for print
The print infrastructure can be one of the most expensive line items in a school’s budget. But the good news is it’s really easy to weed out waste, achieve cost savings, and eliminate any pressure associated with a financial shortfall.
Plus, by migrating print to the cloud and adopting a serverless print management solution, schools also benefit from a significantly reduced burden on IT resources, an improved security posture, and a lower environmental impact.
Here are some of the ways directprint.io can support your budget planning and management goals.
Consume print as-a-service
directprint.io is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) print management solution that allows users to quickly deploy, secure, control, and track print in the cloud. As it’s a serverless solution, you can eliminate costly on-premise print servers as well as the resources required to maintain them.
Our pricing model is clear and simple, you only pay for print capacity as-a-service, and we have options for both monthly and yearly subscriptions. You can view our current pricing here and there’s even a handy education calculator.
Designed for Chromebooks
directprint.io is a Chrome Enterprise Recommended partner. Setting up managed printing for Chromebooks is really easy and our platform provides Chromebook users with a full-featured range of flexible printing options, such as direct print, secure print and finishing options, across all platforms.
No steep learning curve
Full directory integration with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 makes set-up and ongoing management a breeze. Our universal print driver can be installed through Google Workspace Admin, Microsoft Intune/PQD, or your favorite MDM tool to all devices.
Plus, autonomous directory synchronization means that if end-users are created, moved, or deleted, the platform automatically reconfigures their printer access. We also enable single sign-on, to provide staff and students with seamless access to the printers they need.
Define and implement print policies
With directprint.io you can control print capabilities for different OUs, groups and users through policy enforcement – removing any risk of massive overspend. It’s also possible to apply specific print policies – such as enabling stapling and hole punching, restricting colour printing, making duplex the default etc. to different types of users. You can even provide special print privileges to guests or remove print access altogether.
Realise ongoing cost savings
We’ve made it really easy for you to encourage responsible printing behavior and ensure you don’t waste costly resources. The directprint.io platform includes a unique toner/ink saving option supported by a plethora of customizable print modes. Our print nudge feature encourages eco-responsible printing to help the environment and save costs. First run prints of large documents can be defaulted to draft mode to save toner. Users can select and preview a suitable print quality for their current job, such as draft, remove images, mono, ultra-draft, or more; and the smart mode will ignore blank and one-liner trailer pages in order to eliminate blank pages.
Track print costs and activity
Simply knowing what you are spending can help you cut costs. With directprint.io you benefit from complete visibility of all print activity. You can leverage detailed reports to highlight where you’re wasting resources and identify areas where you can make further savings.
Interested in finding out more about how we can help you revolutionize your school or district’s print infrastructure and save money to boot? Enquire about a free trial or book a demo to see for yourself today.
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