Comments on: Print Management: Phase 1

By: Virginia Bukowski

Virginia Bukowski — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:19:12 +0000

Response to Adam’s comment (#2)…

Numbers will continue to be gathered allowing us to compare this year’s Language Schools and fall term to the recent past. Such information, along with Mike’s work with the economics class, will help us to determine what step to take next (specifically looking at quotas). As you note, there seems to be a great deal of unnecessary and unclaimed printing. After reviewing the data this fall, it might be decided that the print release system – in essence forcing users to reconsider whether they really need something printed – is sufficient.

Adam, would you like to be part of the quota sub-group? It hasn’t, yet, been determined who will be on the quota sub-group, but if you’re interested, please shoot me an e-mail.

Ginnie

By: Virginia Bukowski

Virginia Bukowski — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:46:07 +0000

Thank you for your posted concern, Brenda. The $5 card/50-page rate was set after considering smaller and varying denominations. It was determined that one denomination should be offered for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the staff and electronic resources required to supply, sell, and support this process. As you know, the copy cards are via machine; they do not require significant amount of staff time.

Remember, guest printing cards are just an initial portal to printing on campus, with the actual support structure in the PaperCut system. People setting up accounts, which are maintained by the college infrastructure, for a single request that involves 1 or 2 pages would be extreme.

Don’t forget, print accounts may be set up with a $5 card and used for multiple small printing jobs as needed. There is no need for a guest to use all $5 in one or two visits.

In addition, we are not the only resource for guest printing. For those who want to print only 1 or 2 pages, there are several outlets in the area for them to do so, at varying costs:
Ilsley Library
Main Street Stationary*
UPS Store*
* offers color printing as well.

- Ginnie

By: Adam Franco

Adam Franco — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:15:47 +0000

One statistic I’m very interested in seeing is what the reduction in printing is just due to the need to release jobs. Often it seems, students will be running late and send a small job to a printer, go to the printer and see it in the middle of a 200-page job, then send a new job to another printer to get around the delay. I have no idea how big of a percentage this is, but the recycle-bins seem to be full of such wasted prints.

While quotas will probably be even more helpful in cutting down less-needed printing, it would be great to use part of the semester to evaluate the effectiveness of the print-release stations without quotas. Once we have those numbers in hand it would allow us to independently evaluate the effect of quotas separate from the reduction in waste due to the print-release system.

By: Brenda Ellis (LIS Librarian)

Brenda Ellis (LIS Librarian) — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:05:56 +0000

This seems inconsistent with our photocopiers, where we sell $1 cards. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve dealt with visitors only needing to print a page or just a few pages – not 50 pages. Yikes.