Case Study - Stephen Perse Sixth Form College

The Stephen Perse Sixth Form College, Cambridge, opened in September 2008, is the new coeducational sixth form college set up by Perse Girls, one of the most successful schools in the country.

The sixth form college is a completely new facility which has been designed and constructed to provide the perfect teaching environment for sixth form students. Every function of the college has been ‘revisited’ by architects, designers, tutors and specialist IT consultants, and the final result represents the very best of what is available today.

Working as part of the appointed team, Complete Imaging plc designed and installed the new imaging network. Comprising four highly specified Ricoh colour MFDs in the main public areas of the college, and 25 Kyocera mono printers in the teaching areas, the system can be accessed by every student using their Myfair card, with the costs for prints ordered deducted directly from the students personal printing account embedded within the magnetic strip.

Single card system
The Myfair card was originally intended for student identification, door entry, books and materials purchases and the canteen, with all ‘cashless’ transactions being completed using the card. When Complete Imaging were invited to present proposals for the new imaging network, they successfully investigated the possibility of adding the cost of student printing to the pre-paid Myfair card – further reducing the need for cash on campus for students and the college.

Working closely with the card provider, Obsidian Security Limited, Complete Imaging has developed a print order and payment system that is completed on the students laptop or college computers. As part of the print order process the cost is automatically deducted from the students personal ‘printing account’ using Altman Technologies Pcounter software, prior to delivery of the files for printing. Completed in seconds, the system can be accessed from anywhere in the college via the lecture room wi-fi network and is intended for the students day-to-day printing needs.

Turn key solutions
Having developed the printer/card/reader hook-up and completed the installation in good time for the opening, Complete Imaging are now working with Obsidian to produce a simple turn-key printing solution which can be offered to other schools, colleges and universities. The system can be adapted to meet any requirement where copies – defined by cost, quantity, size or type i.e. colour/black and white – can be assigned to an individual, department, job number or project.