Why does the man say this? (replay)

Listen to part of a conversation between a student and an administrator. (S = Student, Ad = Administrator)
(replay: But the purchasing process being what it is…)
S: The new printers that are coming next month…
Ad: Yeah, I ordered them as soon as the budget was approved. It’s a shame. But the purchasing process being what it is… You know what, it’s possible some of the printers are malfunctioning because they run out of ink. I’m no technician, but if that’s what’s wrong, I could fix it. I guess I’ll grab some ink cartridges and go over the student center and check. No guarantees, sorry, but it might fix the problem.