The way we use printers has changed dramatically compared with a decade ago, when most of our Follow-Me printers were first installed. The majority of staff use their devices to access documents or share documents via Teams rather than printing a hard copy. Building purpose and usage has also changed, which means some printers are not now in the best place.

Utilisation data shows that many printers on campus see very little use each week - and in some cases are not used at all.

This presents a great opportunity to make positive progress with the universities energy usage sustainability targets. 

What is happening?

During the Easter vacation (31 March to 16 April) work will start to remove and relocate printers:

• Around a third of printers will be removed.
• Printers will be relocated to better align with usage in each building and to maintain access to printing for all.
• Many of the remaining printers will be upgraded to newer energy-efficient models

All printers scheduled for removal have very little use and therefore removal should have a very small impact. Another available printer should not be very far away.  

How was it decided which printers should be removed or replaced?

Konika Minolta (KM), our Managed Print Service supplier, provided the University with utilisation figures (number of prints) for every printer. Together with Procurement, Sustainability and Estates teams, and using local knowledge from support staff, DTS has produced a list of printers recommended for removal.  These printers have under 5% utilisation per month, so are rarely used while still consuming energy and incurring rental costs and support fees.  

We also looked at how often the most highly used printers required support calls, as many of them are older and slower models. These have been identified for an upgrade to a newer high spec model.

Schedule

All campuses will be done over the Easter vacation (31 March to 16 April), with a detailed schedule being drawn up now. The plan is for removal and replacement work to happen Monday to Thursday, with Friday to ensure everything is as expected. DTS will contact departments ahead of time to confirm which days the work will happen for them, and to confirm where the nearest printer will be.

Approach to the work

A dedicated specialised team from Konica Minolta will remove, move or replace the identified printers. Alongside this team, the two current university campus based KM technicians, (Phil and Ed - if you know them) will be on hand to test and ensure a smooth transition. Additional support will come from DTS.

As we use Follow-Me printing, users will not need to reinstall new printers. Disruption is expected to be minimal, the majority of users will only notice when they come to use a printer because it will be in a different place. 

Contact us

No project planning is perfect and we understand there maybe extenuating circumstances regarding a printer's use that both KM and DTS are unaware. If a printer is set for removal because it has a very low utilisation, but is business critical for a specific task or activity, or its location is vital, please contact the team via the Device Lifecycle email address at device-lifecycle-dts@reading.ac.uk to discuss. 

Frequently Asked Questions

We will add to this section!

If a team is moving office or relocating and/or wishes to request a printer, what should they do?

All requests for new printers should be submitted via the Request a new Multi-function Device form with a strong business justification and supporting information. If approved, DTS will contact KM on your behalf to authorise them to action.

Is anything else changing with the way to request extra paper or report a fault?

No, everything else remains the same. Please use existing Managed Printing request forms.

Page created by lm920207 on 19/03/25