Frequently Asked Questions About Printing
TitanPrint - FAQ
Will the money that I personally added to my account be lost at the end of the quarter?
Any additional value added to your account will be carried forward to the next quarter. Be advised that students should manage this account since there is no way to reimburse account balances at the end of the quarter. These personally added funds accounts will be purged at the end of the Spring Quarter, so please budget accordingly. We recommend that you do not add more than $5 at a time of your personal funds.
Why is the formerly "free and unlimited" student printing now being changed to managed printing?
There were numerous factors that lead to installing a managed printing solution:
- Requests from campus groups to eliminate printing waste.
- Huge amounts of wasted paper piled up on or near printers and filling recycle bins.
- Student's personal work being left unclaimed at printers.
- Printing in the library alone (paid for by student tech fees) was approaching 100,000 sheets every month that classes where in session.
- Long lines of students waiting for their jobs to be printed in the library.
- Need for statistics to determine how many students used student tech fee printing or who was abusing the printing.
- Non-students taking advantage of student-tech-fee-supported printing.
- Need for wireless laptop owners to use printers.
- The volume and cost of printing greatly exceeding the costs of printing solution.
- Expanding the number and availability of printers (even color printers) throughout campus.
- Prevent runaway printing costs from requiring a rise in tech fees.
Why can't faculty or staff use TitanPrint?
Student tech fee supported printing is paid for by students and is intended only for students who pay the technology fee. Faculty/Staff who are also students and pay tech fees will be allotted the same $10 as are students. Faculty/Staff who are not students will need to look to their departments to provide them with printing resources. Faculty and staff who are also students and do not pay tech fees will need to add value to their TitanPrint account in order to have access to student printing resources. They will also be subject to the end academic term purge of all printing accounts. Note: Faculty/Staff can print in color or black laser in the Library or labs and have the page cost charged to their department. Please see Printing & Graphics to make arrangements, this service will require a FOAP from your department admin. Your Lane ID access card will not work on student printers without making prior arrangements with the Printing & Graphics department. The machine will likely allow you to login but the copier/printer will act as if you do not have any available funds.
Where does the printout go when I click print?
It depends upon where you are at the moment. If you are in a classroom type computer lab, it should automatically print. If you are in the Learning Commons or the Library in the Center Building it goes into your TitanPrint print queue (identified by your L# login) and is held there for you for 24 hours. Your TitanPrint Account is not charged (but the funds are held) until you release your print job to the printer at a Release Station. After clicking print, you can release your job at any TitanPrint Release Station that is available.
What happens when I use up my TitanPrint account credits?
You can add additional value to your TitanPrint Account and print additional pages by going online to your user profile in TitanPrint and clicking the "Add Funds" link on the left side navigation bar. You can also purchase a print card at the Titan Store and then log into your user profile in TitanPrint and again click the "Add Funds" link on the left side of the web page. At the start of a new quarter, typically a week before the first day of instruction, the value in your self added funds account will be carried forward to following quarters and your TitanPrint account credit will be restored to $10.00. Going forward, your TitanPrint account credits will be depleted before your self added funds account will be used again.
What happens to print jobs that I don't print at the release station because I don't want to print? Will I be charged for this?
Print jobs submitted, but not printed from the TitanPrint Release Station will automatically be deleted after 4 hours. You can also delete print jobs at the TitanPrint Release Station. Deleted jobs are not charged against your printing allocation or your personally funded account. Only jobs sent to the printer are charged and require your approval to print.
What happens if I try to print a two-page document and I only have $.07 in my TitanPrint account?
You will not be able to submit print jobs that deplete your account or exceed your account balance. Add sufficient value by logging into your TitanPrint account in order to print. You can use a credit card to add value or redeem a top-up print card that you purchased at the Titan Store.
$10.00 is simply the total of a comparative cost of printing (7 cents per page) multiplied by 140 pages (print impressions) and rounded up. So the real question is – "how was this level determined?" It's very difficult to determine what a reasonable amount of printing for a wide range of students would be. A decision needed be made to decide on an allotment that would accommodate most student's printing needs, persuade students to think twice about what they actually need to print, promote methods to conserve the amount of pages printed and set a level comparable to other colleges. We are well aware that 140 pages are insufficient for many students. Some students print thousands of pages every quarter. The question for these students is – "should the printing budget cover all the printing that you want to do?" Other students who pay tech fees believe that a very disproportionate amount of printing is an unfair use of the tech fees just as those who print disproportionate amounts feel they are entitled to this benefit.
The intention is to make the service freely available and establish reasonable limits to control excess use or abuse that would result in higher costs to everyone or affect other's ability to use the service. Additionally, improvements to printing infrastructure can be made without raising student fees.
Students who use a disproportionate amount of any resource typically need to purchase additional resources. Students who require printing beyond their allotment can continue to use campus laser printers at a cost of 7 cents per page impression for black and white and 25 cents per page impression color. Be aware that printing was never free and has always been paid for by student fees.
If the printer jams, will I still be charged for prints? How do I get a refund?
Print jobs submitted to the printer are charged against your TitanPrint Account balance. Report the print jam and the funds used in your print job can be refunded. You can request a print job refund online through your TitanPrint account. Look for the "Request Refund" link to the left of your user profile page, find your print job in question, and click "Request Refund" in the Status column. Refunds will only be granted for malfunctions of the machine such as paper jams or lack of adequate toner to properly print. We will not grant refunds if you improperly format your page or if you "accidentally" print in color. Refunds are typically reviewed within 2 business days, but often much sooner.
If printing is such a problem, shouldn't staff in the Library be monitoring what is being printed?
The realistic way to control printing is to have each student control their own printing. Students can print whatever they wish, whenever the Library or Labs are open. With a sufficient account balance, they can print a book, tax forms, journal articles, e-mail, PowerPoint presentations or a syllabus.
If I have problems or questions, where do I go?
Please contact the student help desk: SHED. It is located in the Learning Commons near the east entrance to the library on the second floor of the Center Building.
If I don't use my $10 allotment each quarter, can I get a refund or will the balance be added to next quarter's balance?
No, the alloted print credit of $10 is not an actual amount you were charged but a credit derived from the Technology Fund which you did pay and which is used to support numerous technology related items and activities. At the beginning of each quarter, each student's account is replenished with a print credit that is the equivalent of about 142 black and white single sided impressions which is $10.00. The print credit is a tool used to control printing per term for each student and therefore doesn't roll over to the new term. Any personally added money will be rolled over to the end of Spring quarter at which time all print accounts are cleared completely.
I printed a document and it didn't show up in the TitanPrint Release Station. Did I get charged?
No, you are only charged when you release a print job to the printer using the TitanPrint Release Station. However, the funds are being held until the print is released. When the print job expires in 4 hours, the funds will be made available for use. Also, the document could have been sent to a different print queue (b&w or color) or you might be logged onto the computer under someone else's L#.
I printed a color document. Why doesn't it show up on the color Release Station?
The document could have been sent to the black and white printers, or you might be logged on under someone else's L#/username.
I have printed from a computer. Why when I login on the TitanPrint Release Station don't I see my print jobs?
Check to find out if you are logged onto the computer with your L number. Always remember to log off when finished.
I have a 300 page thesis. Is there somewhere else on campus I can print without using my whole 300 page allotment?
Not really, but you can purchase additional pages at the Titan Store(s) or online at your TitanPrint user profile. If you require special paper, binding, or other printing needs you can visit the Printing & Graphics department in Building 7. Print services at Printing & Graphics will need to be paid for by cash or credit card, you cannot use your TitanPrint credits there at this time.
I am an Art student, can I continue to print at Printing & Graphics in Building 7?
Yes, however, we currently are unable to use your TitanPrint account allocation for services at Printing & Graphics. They will continue to accept cash or credit card as they have in the past. We will be reviewing that policy when we develop a way for student TitanPrint accounts to be accessed by the machines in Printing & Graphics. Additionally, Printing & Graphics will continue to offer a high performance color copier and an assortment of paper types up to 12x18 inches. If your department has made printing arrangements with Printing & Graphics for specific classes this will continue. However, be aware that you will now have the ability to print in color in the Library up to 11x17 inches.
Having to use a Release Station in the Library causes lines and delays particularly during tests, can anything be done to eliminate print release stations?
We feel that a print release station in the Library is a better solution than what was happening in the past ie all printing immediately printed in a large pile. Numerous students then leafed through this large print pile. The result was a big mess and necessitated reprinting by many students. Additionally, a large pile of unclaimed print jobs was always present as there was no incentive to collect a print-out that was improperly formatted or to spend extra time searching for a single page in a large pile. We believe that a print release procedure will help the environment by eliminating unnecessary paper usage.
Can students who typically use a greater number of prints be allocated more "free" printing?
Each student pays the same tech fees and is entitled to the same level of service. Imagine the complexity of determining which classes and which situations justify increased printing allocation. Some classes require more books or more expensive books, some require students to pay lab fees. An attempt was made to provide a reasonable number of prints for the general cross-section of students. Students who require more printing should be prepared to add value to their account to accommodate their additional printing needs.
For further help, click on Live Help, leave a ticket, or contact:
Employee HelpDesk
helpdesk@lanecc.edu
(541) 463-4444