"Within the next couple of weeks, we hope to roll this out," Jacques Plante, customer service manager for the Office of Information Technology, told the Crier. "We’re just looking for ways to do our part."

The three sites -- including computers on both levels of the Library, the Academic Resource Center in Cushing, and the Weiler center in Goulet -- will feature new software, a product of Pharos Systems International, on special print release computer stations. Instead of sending a document directly to a printer, users will instead send their document to one of these stations, where a computer with the unique purpose of printing sits next to the printers. Users log in to these stations and physically print the documents.

These three locations were chosen because, according to Plante, they are where "most of the heavy-duty printing is done."

IT also plans to make wireless printing available, allowing students to print from remote locations -- such as a residence hall room -- and retrieve at the Library, ARC, or Weiler release stations.

The system tracks the number of pages printed through deducting a set fee per page -- currently set at 10 cents -- from an individual’s printing debit account. Current plans are for this account, and the deductions, to be theoretical, and Information Technology publications refer to them as printing "credits."

"I'm not interested in constricting your necessary printing," Plante said. What Information Technology is interested in doing is making students mindful of the quantity and costs of their printing.

Each student account will open with approximately $500 in credits and will be replenished every semester. Plante says that this number is just a starting point -- he has no idea how many pages the average student prints.

In the future, the starting number of credits would be adjusted as Information Technology better understands student printing habits.

"As far as IT is concerned, students are already paying for some printing," Plante said, referring to the technology fee, currently $275 per semester for campus residents. But, he points out, charging students for printing in the future "wouldn’t be an IT decision. . . . Printing is a small portion of what it [the student technology fee] covers."

Adam Albina, chief information officer for the College, explained to incoming students this fall that supplemental credits could be added to a student's account simply by request at the Help Desk in Poisson Hall. He added that repeated or unusually frequent requests from an individual may prompt further inquiry by Help Desk staff.

Information Technology staff tested the software over the summer in their own offices. Rather than congestion at the printer or release station, Plante said there was less traffic because staff visited the printer fewer times over the course of the day. He did not miss the rush to retrieve a printed page before it was sandwiched between other users’ print jobs and either lost or thrown out. The stack of unwanted pages and misprints was significantly reduced in size.

If the system debuts successfully, "eventually. . . we might even roll out print management in other areas of campus," Plante said.

This article was published on September 12, 2008 on page 2 of the Saint Anselm Crier.