Pharos delivers new pay-for-print solutions featuring Lexmark technology
11 July, 2003
category: Education
–Students, teachers and administrators at higher education institutions gain access to cost-effective, turnkey printing solutions–
EAST ROCHESTER, N.Y., July 10, 2003–Pharos Systems International today announced it is teaming up with Lexmark International, Inc., to bring new pay-for-print solutions to the higher education and public library markets. The solutions will help these institutions reduce waste and cost effectively improve printing capabilities in libraries, classrooms and laboratories.
Pharos Uniprint software is used widely in the higher education, public library and corporate markets as a means of tracking, controlling and accounting for printing. When combined with Lexmark’s industry-leading monochrome and color printing devices, customers can offer students, teachers and administrators a host of new printing capabilities that were previously not available or were too costly.
“Higher education customers have a need to make printing available to students in key locations throughout their campuses, but haven’t had easy-to-implement or cost-effective solutions to do so,” said Paul Rooke, Lexmark executive vice president and president of its Printing Solutions and Services Division. “The combination of Lexmark’s printing technology and the Pharos pay-for-print solution makes it easy for these customers to give students access to printers, while not having to absorb the costs. In fact, we believe this solution can pay for itself in less than one semester.”
Today, many higher education institutions offer students unlimited, free printing services for online course materials, reports, Internet articles, reserved readings, laboratory results and other reference materials. Increasing student populations and rising paper and technology costs make this uncontrolled access an expensive proposition that can quickly spiral out of control. By implementing an effective solution, higher education institutions often find that they can reduce the amount of printing by up to 50 percent and transfer costs to the students themselves.
“Uniprint is an excellent cost recovery vehicle for organizations interested in reducing paper waste, improving equipment productivity, and monitoring usage by department or individual,” explains Kevin Pickhardt, CEO for Pharos Systems. “It also enables the use of cost-effective color printing in organizations that couldn’t have otherwise afforded it. Students have been clamoring for public access color printing and now service can be provided on a very cost effective, pay-as-you-go basis. It’s a true win-win for the college and the student.”
Pharos and Lexmark have already developed three joint offerings that are being marketed to the education and public library marketplace. These pay-for-print solutions bundles combine Pharos Uniprint pay-for-print software with the Lexmark T632, a 35-page-per-minute monochrome laser printer, and the C750 color laser printer, one of the most cost-effective, color printers on the market today. The result is a turnkey solution that combines state-of-the-art printers, Uniprint software, online or offline card systems, installation, training, and support for patron and student print management.
The relationship with Pharos complements Lexmark’s existing vertical marketing strategy, which focuses on delivering unique solutions to specific industry segments. As part of the relationship, Lexmark and Pharos will sell each other’s products.
About Pharos Systems
Pharos Systems is the world leader in output resource management solutions and has been solving customer problems for the last ten years. Today, Pharos products are used extensively in more than 700 colleges, universities, and public libraries in 16 countries to provide knowledge and control to IT professionals – making their jobs easier and their investments more productive. . The company’s headquarters are located at 333 W. Commercial Street in East Rochester, N.Y. The phone number is 585-249-8999 and the web site address is www.pharos.com.