Page 30 - Print 21 Magazine May-June 2019

Inplant
School’s new print room passes the test
It is the school that has taught prime ministers, business giants, sports stars, and poets – and its print setup was in need of an overhaul. Now, with the help of Canon, Sydney Grammar School has implemented what it says is a high-quality, affordable solution that lets its teachers get on with what they do best, as Jake Nelson discovered.
The hallowed halls of prestigious Sydney Grammar School (SGS) have hosted a veritable who’s who of influential
men throughout Australian history, including former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, Olympic gold- medal swimmer Andrew “Boy” Charlton, and perhaps most famous of all, quintessential Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. As of
last year, they are now hosting something else as well: a fully- equipped Canon print room.
“Sydney Grammar is an old traditional school. We had some Canon photocopiers dotted around the place, but they were not at the higher end,” explains Bill Raeside, technical services director at
SGS. “Last year we decided as a school to get a print room and an operator. We went to Canon and got the proposal, which included an operator and two new machines to do the printing, and we have been pleased with the outcome.”
According to Raeside, the decision to go with Canon for the new setup ultimately boiled down to what it was offering: an equivalent product at a lower cost when compared
to other manufacturers, plus the service the school had grown used to.
“When we compared the different machines from different suppliers,
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Canon’s solution had similar
features but the pricing was better,” he says. “Because we have had a relationship with Canon for the other photocopiers around the place, we were feeling a little bit more comfortable with the knowledge that the service it has provided in the past was of the highest standard.”
The school carved out a section
of an old workshop to house the new equipment. Raeside says, “As we didn’t have a print room it was
up to teachers to provide their own individual class sets of notes or prepare their own exams, and they were spending many hours standing at photocopiers, which was not a great use of their time, and they didn’t have the skills required to operate it. One of the decisions we made was to take that facility away from them, and leave it in the hands of an expert. We would change the culture of the school.”
That expert is Harry Nguyen of Canon subsidiary Converga, who has run the school’s new ImagePress C850 colour press and ImageRunner Advance 8505 monochrome press
in its compact print room for a little over a year.
“He is much loved among the staff, they have picked a good man. And when Harry goes on leave or is sick, Converga is quick to replace him,” says Raeside.
Pleasure to deal with:
Bill Raeside (right) and Harry Nguyen
A matter of time
The addition of a dedicated print room has made printing more efficient for SGS staff since its implementation last January, according to Glenn Bovill, production supervisor at Canon.
“Initial thoughts were to create the space, get teachers back to doing what their core role is, instead of standing in front of photocopiers, and move that work to a purpose-built area, with a dedicated operator who can do those tasks for them. It frees up the teachers’ time and lets them better use their skill sets,” he says.
Bovill highlights the small footprint, ease of use, flexibility, speed, reliability, and quality as factors that make the presses
ideal for this environment – plus the capacity for in-line saddle stitching. The consolidation of printing operations to a single point in the school is also helpful. “Here we can organise consumables for not just the print room but
“We would change the culture of the school.” – Bill Raeside
devices around the school, as well as first level responses to things like jams, any sort of minor issues with machines. The print room becomes the sole point of contact for staff,” he says.
Bovill is happy with the relationship between SGS and Canon, “It can be a challenge to change people’s thought patterns, but staff have really bought into the whole scope of what the print room is here for. It is about making their lives easier,” he says.
Raeside says he would “absolutely” recommend Canon and Converga to any other prospective clients. “I think the way they work, the service they provide, and the quality of the machines, have absolutely been superb,” he says.
And as one of the school’s most revered alumni might have written: ‘Whether he’s believed or no, there’s one thing we can rule – that Canon’s print is all the go at Sydney Grammar School’. 21