With 276 schools and 214,350 students, the Philadelphia School District is the ninth largest public school system in America. Much like its counterparts across the country, the Philadelphia School District is finding that advancing technology, the power of color in learning, and the availability of online images are rapidly increasing its need for color printing.
THE CHALLENGE
Philadelphia School District
Having used mainly monochrome laser printers, and desktop inkjet printers in a few classrooms, the School District wanted color, but was wary of its high costs—particularly the frequent replacement of ink cartridges used in inkjet printers. The administration also sought “workhorse” printers that could deliver high-quality color graphics while standing up to the demands of a classroom environment. Output speed was critical so that students would not waste valuable class time waiting for documents to be printed. Finally, it was essential that comprehensive customer support was available at all times to support the IT department and minimize downtime.
THE OKI SOLUTION
By developing a close working relationship with the School District, Oki Data presented a range of solutions tailored to the District’s needs and budget.
- Classrooms using color inkjet printers needed faster, more cost-effective and more reliable replacements. OKI’s solution was the C5300n Digital Color printer, which delivers 12 ppm color and 20 ppm mono, while significantly cutting consumables usage.
- Teacher Administrative areas needing reliable color and mono printing were served by the OKI C7300n Digital Color printer, which generates up to 20 ppm color and 24 ppm mono.
- For School Labs, which required high-volume color printing, OKI recommended the C9300dxn Digital Color printer (up to 30 ppm color and 37 ppm mono).
- For District Headquarters, OKI recommended the OKI B6100 Digital Monochrome printer. Oki Data also extensively trained District personnel on the printers so they could act as the first line of support, if needed.
THE SAVINGS
With an initial order of 360 printers, the Philadelphia School District is already realizing the benefits of the reduced total cost of ownership and the cost savings on consumables, primarily from lowered replacement costs of ink cartridges. For classrooms that replaced inkjets with the OKI C5300n, Oki Data is projecting a $1,000 savings over the life of each printer. In addition, Oki Data provided a total satisfaction guarantee that encompasses all internal personnel technical training and on-site service and support.
CONCLUSION
The success of the Oki Data–School District of Philadelphia relationship is based on Oki Data’s understanding of the District’s needs. District decision-makers were pleased with the recommendation to upgrade from mono to OKI’s award-winning Digital Color printers, and appreciated that Oki Data was not only sensitive to cost but was aware of the needs of the industry and worked to meet them.
“The true partnership that Oki Data provided,
along with the custom OKI printing solutions recommended for each different venue, really set Oki Data apart from the competition.”—School District of Philadelphia Technology Director
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