I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but schools use a lot of paper. 2 million sheets — 200 trees worth — per year, to be exact. In a bid to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and promote environmental consciousness, Morris Hills and its sister school, Morris Knolls , have recently rolled out a cutting-edge Printing-On-Demand (POD) model, which replaces the traditional setup of having dedicated printers in classrooms with a network of high-capacity printers strategically located throughout the school buildings. Teachers and staff now send their print jobs to a central “FindMe” printer, allowing them to retrieve their documents from a shared, centralized printer at their convenience. Previously, Mr. Semer said that, “90%+ of our classrooms had a dedicated printer in the room that would be hooked up to the main teacher station in that classroom” (Semer). With the POD system implemented, this effectively reduces the number of printers in Morris Hills to just 12 and encourages teachers to make more mindful trips to printing locations.
In addition to potentially reducing paper use itself, Mr. Semer — one of the leading forces behind the change and maintenance of MHRD’s new POD system — expects the new system to make the district more environmentally conscious. As he explains, “The software we use… gives us a very clear breakdown of how many trees we have consumed, CO2 produced, or equivalent light bulb hours we’ve used” (Semer). Mr. Semer hopes publishing real world impacts will make some people more aware about their paper consumption and perhaps think twice before printing a paper copy, musing, “I think some people shrug it off when they copy 400 pages, but if they were told it was 5% of a tree they may have second thoughts” (Semer).
While this centralized printing system seems picture-perfect, its veneer may indeed be paper-thin. Teachers reportedly miss the convenience of printing right from their classrooms. French teacher Madame Maravi says, “It’s inconvenient, but I understand how it can also make printing more efficient; for example, if components of the printer break down there will always be a centralized system” (Maravi). She also appreciates the steps that Morris Hills has taken to ensure that she and her fellow faculty are well-adjusted for the gradual transition. Starting last summer, teachers were informed that there would be a gradual phase-out in usage for classroom-based printers.
Yet, when she saw that her printer had disappeared upon returning to school in September, that had still been a shock. She especially regrets that teachers were not able to use up the leftover ink remaining in the printers before they were switched out for central ones, and wonders what happened to the old printers themselves. Although she and others have since adjusted to MH’s new printing system, Madame Maravi reiterates how sometimes it can be frustrating to make an extra trip to a printing station, “when all you need is one extra copy.”
Nonetheless, Morris Hills school officials took all perspectives into mind, as the decision to adopt the POD model was not made lightly. In an interview with Mr. Semer, he highlighted several factors that influenced the move. These include increased confidentiality, reduced costs related to printers and supplies, streamlined maintenance with fewer printer models, improved supply availability, and a concerted effort to minimize waste. Moreover, the decisions are backed by numbers.
Morris Hill’s current print management system, aptly named PaperCut, offers robust data analytics to monitor printing patterns. Data reports include departmental trends, exact printer usage statistics, and environmental impact assessments. With insights into who prints the most, which printers are frequently used, and carbon footprints, Morris Hills district Business Administrator Mr. Charles was motivated to change printer placements in hopes of ultimately reducing printer use.
Emphasis on ultimately. Mr. Semer confirms that seeing results for print reduction will take time, as the new system was only recently implemented this summer. Moreover, even upon assessing impact, it will be worth noting that comparisons to previous year’s consumption must contend with skewed data from the pandemic.
While it may be too early to draw definitive conclusions on print reduction, the school district has seen a significant reduction in hardware-related issues. With the change in printing infrastructure, Morris Hills has replaced most of its previous printers, which Mr. Semer admits were “well over 10 years old and [having] constant issues,” to configure new ones to PaperCut’s system. Mr. Semer expects the transition from aging printers to brand-new equipment will result in fewer IT tickets over time. Even now, Mr. Semer proudly reports, “we are seeing far fewer hardware-related tickets” (Semer).
Looking ahead, the Morris Hills Regional School District envisions a gradual reduction in the need for physical printing, with a long-term goal of transitioning to digital formats for instructional materials. In particular, Mr. Semer expresses high hopes for a complete transition from paper copies “to digital copies to be shared on Google Classroom or via email” (Semer). However, in the short term, the primary objective is to provide teachers with a reliable and convenient printing system that minimizes interruptions to instructional time.
Environmental or maintenance priorities aside, Mr. Semer reiterates that Morris Hill’s new printing system ultimately has teachers in mind. When asked about his end goals for POD, he answered, “The purpose of the system was to make it more convenient for the teachers to be able to print what they need without having to ‘find a printer that works’” (Semer). Whether the new centralized printing system will work will ultimately be a test of time. But when 200 trees are on the line each year, it may end up only being a matter of it.