SUBJECT: CORPORATE PRINTING GUIDELINES

1. PURPOSE

The Town provides users with Information Technology tools and services to facilitate electronic management of business data, communication with clients and staff, and acquisition, preparation and presentation of useful business information. This policy is designed to establish guidelines and principles for the expected and acceptable use of the Information Technology service specified above.

The cooperation of all departments in complying with this policy will greatly assist the Information Technology Services (ITS) department in maintaining quality service and providing effective and reliable Information Technology solutions.

2. OVERVIEW

The Town is engaged in a corporate-wide effort to optimize the use of its fleet of document output (printing) devices, including copiers, printers, fax machines, and multifunctional devices (MFD’s). The goal is to maximize benefits and maintain or increase service levels provided to users of these devices while effectively managing operating expenses. In addition, the establishment of printing practices that reduce the consumption of energy, paper and other resources will support environmental responsibility.

In support of these goals, the Town has established an active and unified approach to managing our document output fleet, including such measures as:

Establishing consistent standards for types of equipment acquired
Strategically and cost-effectively deploying document output devices to optimally meet business needs
Establishing monitoring procedures to accurately track number of pages processed, users served, and usage of consumables for each device
Establishing policies and guidelines governing the effective and appropriate use of document output devices to maximize productivity

To address the final item above, this policy identifies guidelines for the appropriate use of document output devices, including recommendations for effective printing practices and the selection of the most cost effective printing method for the type of job being printed.

3. SCOPE

This policy applies to the use of all document output (printing) devices provided by the Town, including copiers, printers, fax machines, and multifunctional devices (MFD’s). These document output devices will in most cases be connected to the Town’s network for shared use and may be capable of producing black and white and/or colour output. Such devices may be located in various departments within the Town, or in the Town’s Print Shop.

This policy will also apply to the use of document output devices which for authorized reasons have been connected to an individual PC; and to those devices designed for stand-alone operation.

EXCEPTIONS:

Plotters - Plotters are normally required for specialized business purposes and are not subject to this policy.
Scanners - Scanning capability (capturing information from a printed page and storing it electronically) will normally be part of the functionality of a multifunctional device. This policy does not apply to this scanning capability or to devices whose sole function is scanning.

4. POLICY GUIDELINES FOR PRINTING

(a) Printing services provided by the Town are a shared resource. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they share these print resources equitably, in a manner respectful of other users’ needs.

(b) It is the responsibility of the user to select the most cost effective printing method when submitting a print job. To assist in this selection, a print management software tool has been installed on the print server. The information provided by this tool should be used to select the most cost effective printing method. Further guidance is provided in sections (d), (e), and (f), below.

(c) Where possible, print jobs should be printed on both sides of the paper (duplex) to reduce paper consumption.

All print drivers on the desktop will be automatically set where possible to print on both sides of the paper (duplex) by default. The multifunctional devices will be set to print single-sided (1 to 1) for walk up copying only. If required, users may select the single-sided printing option or the double-sided copying option for individual print jobs as necessary.

(d) Laser printers capable of black and white printing located in business areas within the Town should be used for print jobs of 1 to 10 black and white pages (total output). Larger jobs should be sent to a multifunctional device (MFD) or to the Town’s Print Shop. Information provided by the print management software tool should be considered when selecting printing methods – see section (b) above.

(e) Multifunctional devices (MFD’s) located in business areas within the Town should be used for print jobs of up to 100 black and white pages (total output). Larger jobs (over 50 pages in total output) should be sent to the Town’s Print Shop if the required turn around period is 1 day or more. Information provided by the print management software tool should be considered when selecting printing methods – see section (b) above.

(f) Notwithstanding section (e), print jobs requiring more than 100 black and white pages (total output) or more than 10 colour pages (total output) should be sent to the Town’s Print Shop. The Print Shop has specialized equipment designed to quickly and cost-effectively handle high print volumes.

(g) Colour printers are located in business areas with a demonstrated need for colour printing. These printers should be used for print jobs requiring colour output only (including graphs, pictures, graphics, etc.). Colour printers should not be used for memos, simple reports or other documents without colour requirements.

These printers should be used for colour print jobs of 1 to 10 pages. Larger jobs should be sent to the Print Shop.