The Challenge
St. Laurence Church owned the print equipment that was being used, but were being pressured by their vendor to upgrade to newer devices as their machines were “older” They received a proposal from their current vendor for multiple production/graphics pieces of equipment to replace the existing fleet, and upon meeting with Function4, were under the impression that multiple production/graphics machines were necessary.
Function4 asked for permission to interview a few of the equipment users within St. Laurence Church to get a detailed look at not only how much was being printed, but the printed documents as well. Samples files were provided for Function4 to replicate on both a graphics machine as well as a multi-function printer. Multiple in–house demonstrations took place with department heads and device users to not only see the samples, but to get a feel for what the user experience would be like on both types of machines.
At the time of the St. Laurence Church bid, Function4 supported many Archdiocese Parishes and Schools but was not part of the official Galveston/Houston Archdiocese technology contract.
To streamline legal and operational terms and conditions, an official procedures list was created by Function4 to offer to all Archdiocese Parishes and Schools. Within it are the particulars of service metrics, legal T’s and C’s that are approved by the Archdiocese Chancery, as well as pricing agreements to leverage National Cooperative Contracts for Schools and Non-Profit Organizations.
The Function4 Solution
Function4’s eventual recommendation differed from that of the original vendor in that the equipment was right sized for what St. Laurence actually needed – which came with a cost reduction. Fuction4 was eventually selected as the new vendor and multiple MFP’s, a Production/Graphics unit, and a document folder were implemented. Areas with many employees received user friendly machines with the ability to “one touch” copy workflows. This made for a quick and easy user experience and saved time. The area that required high quality graphics received the document folder and a Graphics Printer commonly found in commercial print shops. Though this type of machine can be more user-involved than a smaller printer, multiple training sessions with Function4 helped to get all St. Laurence employees up to speed quickly.
About
St. Laurence Catholic School has been a longtime customer of Function4 for print equipment and service. Over the years a strong relationship was built between the two organizations through steady communication and trust. When St. Laurence Catholic Church, which is associated with St. Laurence Catholic School, decided to look at an upgrade in print equipment, it was suggested that Function4 take part in the bid.