Print Management Program

Ricoh MPS Project Background

Northwestern has had three preferred vendors for multi-function devices (also known as MFDs, printers, or copiers), but this approach has not provided the best value for the University. Procurement and Payment Services has competitively bid a single-provider contract for a managed print service (MPS); this contract has been awarded to Ricoh. The single-provider approach will provide improved pricing on MFDs, significant savings per copy or printout, reduction of paper waste, better equipment service, and a better user-experience for faculty, staff, and students.

Project Objectives

Standardize costs and equipment across the University
Create a centralized billing program that eliminates individual unit leases and bases each unit’s costs on usage and contractually agreed upon pricing.
Offer a consistent, user-friendly MFD experience across the University
Reduce MFD costs and improve service
Reduce costs per copy or printout as well as paper waste
Implement a campus-wide MPS that will use Wildcards as the primary method of user authentication, require print jobs to be released, and allow faculty and staff to print or copy at multiple devices across campus

Equipment Replacement Process

Discovery process

During the discovery process, detailed information on all the non-Ricoh devices—including location, primary departmental contact, lease end dates and monthly costs, and IT support—will be gathered. Using this information, Ricoh will identify contacts and prioritize replacements.

Phase 1

During this phase, which has begun and runs through August 2022, Ricoh will focus on devices that are owned by the University, have expired leases, or have leases that will expire before August 2022. Devices managed by a Northwestern managed print solution (such as NUPrint) are not included.

Ricoh reaches out to the primary contact at each school, unit, or department to discuss devices that are eligible for replacement. When meeting with a unit, Ricoh gathers information about printing needs and requirements and reviews the pre-pandemic printing volume. Ricoh then recommends the appropriate MFD(s) from the standard equipment list. There will be an exception process if a non-standard device is required to address specific needs of a department.

Once MFDs have been approved, Ricoh works with the unit to complete an order and determine the timing of the install. The project’s hardware sub-group and Ricoh have developed a comprehensive checklist of topics and issues to help each unit prepare for the installation of new MFDs.

Phase 2

Start date is dependent on the implementation of the Ricoh managed print solution. Will include any device with a lease expiring prior to August 2022 and currently managed by a Northwestern MPS, such as NUPrint.

Phase 3

Any current Ricoh MFDs with a lease expiration after August 2022.

Phase 4

Any current non-Ricoh MFDs with a lease expiration after August 2022.

Phase 5

Any Northwestern-owned MFDs. These devices will be replaced with Ricoh MFDs in September 2022

Standard MFDs

Visit the Standard MFDs webpage to learn more about Ricoh’s recommendation for each unit.

Project oversight

This project will be managed and run by Ricoh. Due to the complexity of the project, it is necessary to have broad representation and participation across the Northwestern community. In addition to a steering committee, numerous subcommittees are working with the Ricoh project team and with Northwestern IT to move this work forward.

Executive sponsor: Luke Figora
Project sponsor: Jim Konrad
Ricoh project manager: Carly Hawkins
Ricoh sales rep: Bill Jepson
Northwestern project coordinator: Bob Trautvetter

Steering Committee

Amanda Barlow-Reynolds, Kellogg School of Management
Christel Bridges, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Steve DiDomenico, Student Affairs
Brandon Grill, Northwestern IT
Julian Koh, Northwestern IT
Jim Konrad, Procurement and Payment Services
Jonathan Love, Medill School of Journalism
Andrew M Ludington, Northwestern IT
David Marsh, Feinberg School of Medicine
Sachin Patel, School of Professional Studies
Michael Satut, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Matt Stork, Northwestern University Library
Bob Trautvetter, Northwestern University Library
Sheila Watkins, Procurement and Payment Services
Alan Wolff, McCormick School of Engineering
John P. Arends, School of Communications

Working groups

Communications
Discovery
Financial Group
Hardware Logistics
Student / Guest Printing
Technical / Security Group
Training / Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Visit the FAQ webpage to learn more about the Ricoh MPS Project.