SumnerOne Improves Printing Efficiency + Billing Transparency at SWIC

When people think about printers and print services, their first thoughts probably lean toward books and pamphlet printing—they’re most likely not thinking about schools. Education, however, is a huge user of print technologies, and SumnerOne does its best to use its expertise to digitally transform these spaces with the latest technology and their exceptional commitment to service.

OVERVIEW

Since 1946, Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) has served the greater Belleville, Red Bud, and Granite City communities—and beyond—helping students of all ages earn associate degrees, gain certifications, and continue their educations.

The print shop at SWIC, run by Print Services Manager Robert Hall, is constantly busy. From faculty syllabi to tests, student papers to visual aids, there’s a lot of work to be done across the three main campuses. In fact, if a student needs copies, posters, or some other print job associated with a SWIC class or project, Print Services will take on the job happily. There are sometimes playbills to be run for the SWIC Theatre, and the athletics program leans on Hall’s team when needed as well. Print Services also supports the Southwestern Illinois College Bookstore—operated by Barnes & Noble—and the associated promotional materials—ads, banners, and signage associated therein. With all the projects coming through Print Services, it is necessary for their equipment to operate at full capacity all the time. The staff there doesn’t have time to take a break for slow or broken equipment.

THE PROBLEMS

SWIC’s print shop was plagued with confusing billing, inconsistent machinery, and unreliable service.

• Lost print time due to hours on the phone with the leasing and billing department
• Purchased extra machinery to cover demand because, “Their machines always broke,” Hall explains
• Struggled with turnaround time for their current vendor to service their printers/copiers

THE SOLUTION

SWIC partnered with SumnerOne to implement some much-needed upgrades.

• Recovered print time due to easy-to-understand billing, saving SWIC hours on the phone
• Upgraded equipment to replace the constantly breaking older machines
• Exceptional service commitment from SumnerOne=issues fixed the same day

THE RESULTS

The new equipment is a game changer. Robert Hall says the new Canon machines Print Services decided on as replacements are, “Faster; [the] quality is better; and they don’t break.” SWIC Print Services decided on four pieces of equipment to replace their constantly breaking older machines. A C910 Canon digital color press, 2 black and white Canon varioPRINT 130, 1 large format Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-4000, and an Intoprint MP200, which is a piece of specialty equipment for printing envelopes. Uniting their new equipment set up is the Canon PRISMAsync platform, which allows SWIC Print Services to organize workflows, manage jobs remotely, and preview and change jobs with an intuitive interface. Their other big win is that the service and maintenance SumnerOne provides is head and shoulders better than what SWIC had before. “The last company wouldn’t get here as fast as SumnerOne. SumnerOne comes the same day,” explains Hall.

THE FUTURE

Hall says that he’s very happy with the SumnerOne partnership and the benefits he and his team have gotten from the equipment and the services. He raves, “SumnerOne's technology is good quality.” About the benefits he says, “It saves time, cost, and there’s less maintenance time.” Technology should be the silent partner in any business’ success—it should get out of the way, so you can do your job better. SumnerOne and SWIC hope to continue a long, successful partnership into the future. SumnerOne will continue to support SWIC with their easy-to-understand bills and super-fast maintenance, and SWIC Print Services can dream big about what they can provide for the happy community they support.

Having the right business solutions in place—from billing to equipment to service—makes all the difference.  If you are interested in upgrading your print shop this year, check out this helpful roadmap and Contact SumnerOne to  get started.