George Mason University

How Pharos Transformed Student and Staff Printing at George Mason University

The team managing print at George Mason University was in crisis mode. Print had become expensive and chaotic. They were unable to keep up with support demand and staff were overwhelmed. With help from Pharos, GMU was able to transform campus-wide printing operations to better serve both students and staff, while saving a lot of money in the process.

The Challenge

The process of managing student printing at GMU had become a nightmare. Print release stations often had long lines of angry students. Similarities in print job names led them to frequently print the wrong document from the shared queue. The result was uncountable stacks of unclaimed documents and a lot of waste, frustration, and demand for account refunds. GMU needed to act fast to improve the user experience, reduce costs and waste, provide mobile printing capability, and streamline printing operations. GMU brought in Pharos for their unique expertise with large, complex university environments and their ability to provide specialized consulting and responsive support.

The Solution

The GMU team deployed Pharos Uniprint to manage printing for students and staff, secure and record print transactions for every user, reduce operating costs, enable mobile printing workflows, optimize the printer fleet, reduce paper and toner waste, and improve the user experience.

The Result

After deploying Uniprint, the printing experience was immediately improved for everyone. Students love printing from their mobile devices and the flexibility to release their documents at any printer on campus. Everyone has their own print queue and it’s easy to add funds, set document finishing options, and release print jobs—all from their mobile phone. Administration of the entire solution is a breeze and the entire operation is more efficient. After the first two years, GMU saved $1 million measured against print spending over the two years prior to installing Uniprint. Document security and confidentiality was vastly improved, and there were no more wasteful stacks of documents left on and around printers.

Exceeding expectations is what Pharos does best, and we can do the same for you.