ADVERTORIAL
How a Cargo Ship Experiment Solved a Problem in School Printrooms
Print: The Unsung Hero of Education
Your printer probably doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. It doesn’t tweet, ping, or pop up with notifications. But it does something quietly miraculous: it makes knowledge stick. Literally. On paper. And if you’re in education, chances are it’s been your silent sidekick all along. The trouble is, while classrooms evolved, the printers behind the scenes didn’t. Most printing tech was designed for businesses, not busy staff rooms filled with teachers trying to make 30 copies of a worksheet five minutes before the bell. That’s the gap a 22-year-old Japanese entrepreneur, Noboru Hayama, set out to fill. Not with grand speeches but with a vision. And a mimeograph machine that initiated RISO Kagaku Corporation.
The Big Idea? It Started Small Hayama didn’t begin by building a global business. He began by solving a local problem, getting affordable educational materials into schools. He used the profits from his little venture to fund university and support his family. Not a bad side hustle. But behind this practical start was
something deeper: the belief that ideals matter. That when you hold onto them—even through ink spills, startup stumbles, and years at sea—you might just build something enduring.
returned to Japan unchanged. Not clotted. Not compromised. Perfect. That test paved the way for the Risograph—the first digital duplicator. It was fast, it was economical, and crucially, it worked in real-world school environments. Unlike a lot of things tested in sterile labs, this was proven in the wild.
Why This Matters Now
Fast forward to today: schools are under pressure. Budgets are tight. Class sizes are growing. According to the Association of School and College Leaders, without bold investment, schools may have to cut curriculum options and even pastoral care.*
So here’s a question: why are so many schools still using printing tech that hasn’t meaningfully changed?
RISO’s inkjet technology was built to disrupt that. Speeds of up to 165 pages per minute. Rock-solid reliability. And running costs that make accountants smile. It’s not just a printer, it’s a tactical advantage that thousands of schools globally rely on in an overstretched system.
What’s the First Step? Transparency
Start with a print audit. (Not glamorous, we know.) But it’s the easiest way to see where the money’s going and how to get more from less. The right audit doesn’t just count pages, it tells you where you’re leaking budget and where to reclaim control. The outcome? More budget for what matters. Fewer print dramas. And maybe, just maybe, a little more breathing space for staff who already have enough on their plate.
The Cargo Ship Experiment Yes, this bit sounds made up. But it isn’t. In one of his more unusual tests, Hayama stored his experimental ink aboard a cargo ship crossing oceans. He wanted to know: would the ink survive the journey intact? After weeks of rocking through heat and humidity, the ink
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www.education-today.co.uk
Links:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jan/08/schools-england-cuts-rising- costs-funding
May 2025
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