13 November, 2015
category: Privilege Control
Free printing is a thing of the past at Stanford University libraries following the implementation of a new pay-for-print system. The new system is called Stanford Print Service and will require a Stanford ID card, or separate payment card for visitors, to pay for copy and print services.
According to a report form the Stanford Daily, the pay-for-print model will be accompanied by the installation of new printers across campus. Implementation of the new system began over a year ago, but reported technical difficulties delayed full transition to the new payment system this fall.
Stanford’s Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning has overseen the transition to pay-for-print. Students returning in September were initially prompted to use the new pay system for any print jobs at university libraries. To ease into the new pay-for-print model, library officials decided to open the printers for free use during the transition as a temporary courtesy for visiting researchers and alumni.
Under the new model, printing will cost $0.10 per page, with copies costing $0.13 per page. Students will also no longer need to log in to printing.stanford.edu to release their documents. Instead, users can approve and pay for jobs with their Stanford ID via the Stanford Card Plan or the new Stanford Printing Card — a cashless, pay-to-print system for university visitors.
University officials say that the new print system will improve management of supplies and servicing by better monitoring usage rates across facilities. The printer network software was outdated and needed replacing. An existing cash payment system used by those outside the Stanford Card Plan — primarily alumni or visiting researchers — was also in need of a revamp.
Students and other library patrons can now submit print documents from personal laptops to any Stanford Print Service location across campus without having to add the printer to their device’s settings. Going forward, the university plans to extend this feature to smartphones and tablets.
