Jessica Giannone, General Assignment Reporter –
The usage of Southern’s printers has significantly decreased among students since last year when the “Pay for Print” service was initiated, according to Help Desk manager Nicholas Valsamis; but the conveniences have significantly increased.
The new service “Print Anywhere” is available for students to print to the SCSU Mobile Print Service from their own computers and collect their printouts from any lab printers at the university.
“Before, [students] would have to go to a specific place,” said Valsamis. “Now it’s anywhere.”
Instantly, users can send their print jobs from any computer to the mobile print service. The mobile print jobs will remain in the queue for 24 hours.
Valsamis said the new service is set up just like the usual print service. He said all students have to do is select their type of print service, swipe their Hoot Loot card and collect their printout.
“If you want to print, it’s easier for you,” said Valsamis.
He said all lab printers are on the same cue.
According to Valsamis, when printing a file for a PC, the four mobile print services will show up in the print dialog box on the lab computers. Mac users have to select the option from their computer.
The four kinds of services include black and white single-sided, black and white double-sided, color single-sided and color double-sided.
Charges for prints range from five to 40 cents for students, and free for faculty. Information for charges can be found on the Office of Information Technology webpage.
Nicole Volpe, a Southern senior and commuter, said she thinks it can be helpful to some students, but wouldn’t want to use it a lot.
“It’s kind of annoying, but it’s better than Southern raising tuition,” said Volpe, referring to the charges.
Valsamis said there are no limits of prints per student. They just have to make sure they have money on their Hoot Loot card, and that the card being used to pay for the job matches the user name for the print.
He said students should remember that if they get a new Hoot Loot card, it takes at least two hours to become active.
If the print messes up, or if the printer breaks, students won’t be reimbursed but will get a free print, as long as it is not a user error issue.
The service applies to “Pay for Print” labs only, which can be found in the Student Center, the first and fourth floors of the library, Jennings Hall and the residence buildings. Some classrooms also have “Pay for Print” printers.
“If you can get into the building, you can print,” said Valsamis.
Students can use the labs as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 11 p.m.
Valsamis said students have to be connected to the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to use and install the mobile print software. They can go to the Remote website and click on the “Network Connect” option, which then provides a virtual connection to the university network in which students can then download and install the software.
The OIT web page says to install a plug-in application from the SCSU Share website.
“We’re moving towards the most wireless and most mobile-accessible computers in the state,” said Valsamis.
He said last year, Southern increased wireless coverage by four times.
“I usually print at home,” said Volpe, “but it’s nice to know we can print here [at Southern].”
She said the service can come in handy if she forgets to print an assignment and needs “last minute prints.”
The university has over 60 new printers, according to Valsamis, who said they figured new printers were necessary because students are paying.
As of today, Valsamis said the service is not widely used, and lab use is down because a lot of students have laptops and barely check their e-mails.
“What we’re trying to do,” said Valsamis, “is transition out of the traditional lab model and on to a mobile environment.”
Instructions and information about the new print service and how to install Mobile Print software can be found on the OIT webpage.
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