In today’s financially constrained education landscape, Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) are under growing pressure to stretch every pound further. From expanding campuses to increasing admin demands, it’s clear that smarter resource management is essential. One often-overlooked area with significant savings potential? Print.
Studies show that UK schools spend up to 10% of their total operating budget on printing, with many unaware of the hidden costs behind unmanaged print environments. But by adopting a Managed Print Service (MPS), MATs can reduce those costs by up to 30% while improving efficiency, security, and sustainability.
What Drives Print Overspend?
Uncontrolled printing habits, ageing or unmonitored devices, wasteful defaults (like single-sided or colour printing) and multiple supplier contracts all contribute to overspend. Without clear oversight, schools often:
Pay high prices for consumables like toner
Experience frequent breakdowns and downtime
Lack visibility into usage across departments or sites
Have no way to track or control print behaviours
The Power of Centralised Print Management
Konica Minolta works with over 3,000 UK education institutions, including many of the country’s leading universities and independent schools to help bring their print costs under control. For MATs, the key lies in unifying fragmented systems under a single MPS strategy.
This includes:
Print rules and quotas: Enforcing sensible defaults like mono or duplex printing
User authentication: Eliminating unclaimed or accidental prints
Usage analytics: Identifying high-volume users or cost hotspots
Consolidated invoicing: One supplier, one contract, one transparent bill
According to data from Gartner and ManagedPrintUK, institutions adopting MPS can expect up to 30% cost savings and a 25% drop in consumable waste within the first year.
Smarter Tools for Smarter Schools
Konica Minolta’s print solutions are designed for education environments. Integrated software tools like PaperCut give staff and IT teams the control they need, allowing secure print release, cost tracking by user or department and even automated alerts for low toner or jammed devices.
We also offer cloud-based platforms that scale easily with your trust’s growth, ensuring remote sites can connect securely to the same infrastructure, simplifying support and reporting.
Not Just Cheaper, also Greener
Cost savings don’t come at the expense of sustainability. In fact, smarter print policies often drive environmental benefits:
50% paper reduction through duplex printing defaults
Energy-efficient devices that power down when not in use
Toner recycling schemes to reduce landfill impact
Konica Minolta’s long-standing sustainability programme means our devices use recycled plastics, come ENERGY STAR® certified, and include end-of-life recycling options as standard.
The Bottom Line
For MATs balancing cost, quality, and compliance, print is an area where small changes lead to big wins. With a Konica Minolta Managed Print Service, trusts can reduce spend by up to 30%, gain full oversight of their printing habits, and build a future-ready, more sustainable print environment.
Want to take control of your print costs?
Get in touch with Konica Minolta to explore a no-obligation print audit and discover how much your MAT could save.