UIndy monitors printing
The University of Indianapolis has spent $60,000 per year on toner and paper for the past two years. Due to this, the university has recently adopted a Print Management System to reduce the waste of paper.
It’s an easier way to control the amount of paper distributed throughout campus. Client Services Director, Michelle Duman said that to eliminate waste, Client Services, ISG and the Executive Board came together about a year and a half ago to find a solution.
The planning of this project, however, started in 2007. Due to the upfront funding demand for a PMS, the university had to prolong the installation of the system in order to acquire the funds to do so.
Technical Support Manager, Patrinah Bennett said the system itself cost anywhere from $30 to 32,000. The upfront funding was a onetime fee, however, which is significantly less than the $60,000 spent on printing each year.
According to Duman and Bennett, students may have to eventually pay for printing.
However, students will have a certain quota of free prints before they have to pay for each sheet. The quota would approximately be 500 sheets Bennett said surrounding schools already charge for printing.
This method will limit students and instructors to printing just what they need to use. Bennett also said the system will help instructors as well as students because they can upload documents to Blackboard to view.
According to Michelle Duman, the university is happy with the switch, however, some students do not agree with the new system. Duman said, “The students who don’t agree with it, just don’t like it, but they do not have trouble using it.” It is an easy way to print, but some prefer the old way.
It’s obvious that the university is already significantly saving on paper and toner. The system is more efficient for everyone because it saves students’ and instructors’ time.
“The goal is not to take away services from students, but to reduce the waste of paper,” Duman said.
Because the university is a green community, it only makes sense to reduce the waste paper as much as we can. It’s evident in the computer labs that there is no excess paper hanging around, the lines are short at the printer, and the university will now be able to put more money back in to the school with the money being saved on toner and paper.
Senior Katherine Allen said of the PMS, “I like it because it’s more environmental friendly because it saves a lot of paper and ink. I also like it because I don’t have to wait in line at the printer.”
For the convenience of the students, the directions to printing have been put up on the My UIndy Web site. Students can send their print job to the printer, leave it there for up to six hours, and even print it in a different lab than the original print job.
If students have questions or concerns about the new PMS, they can contact Patrinah Bennett in Client Services.
