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Clemson U Upgrades Mail and Print Tech

Clemson University is streamlining its mail and print services on campus with a big upgrade. The institution worked with Ricoh to roll out the company's Student, Departmental and Bulk Mail Services, Production Print Services and Managed Document Services in an effort to reduce its reliance on paper, increase electronic communication and modernize its student mail facility. 

Previously, Clemson students and faculty were choosing their own off-campus print providers on a project-by-project basis. Cost and quality varied, and the arrangement did not align well with the university's sustainability goals, according to a news announcement. 

"A few of the providers we evaluated didn't seem to understand what we were going for with our print policy or align with our sustainability values," said Mike Nebesky, procurement director at Clemson, in a statement. "We even got one proposal that included the caveat that we would only realize cost savings if we continued to print at the same volumes. That's not what we wanted. We wanted to reduce our reliance on paper. Ricoh took that idea and ran with it, making it possible to track and manage usage by device and department. While others took our RFP as an opportunity to give a presentation, Ricoh saw it as a chance for dialogue."

Overall, the collaboration with Ricoh resulted in:

  • A new on-campus print center outfitted with two Ricoh ProC7110X five-color digital presses;
  • Centralized management of all 3,000-plus campus printers, including an incentive program for migrating printing to less expensive devices;
  • Electronic kiosks in the campus mail center for self-service shipping and receiving packages; and more.

Clemson smoothed the transition with a publicity campaign to help educate the campus community about the new print and mail centers, strategies to cut back on print volume and costs, and more.

More information about the project is available on the Ricoh site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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