The print-from-any-device locations add convenience, environmental responsibility.
This fall, Cal U students will be able to print important documents from the comforts of their on-campus home.
As part of the second phase of Cal U’s partnership with WEPA, a provider of cloud-based printing services, six print stations will be installed in all of the University’s on-campus residence halls to be ready for use when classes begin in August.
In addition, three kiosks will be added to New Science, Helsel and Morgan halls. This will allow students and guests to print from any device — computer, smart phone, tablet or USB drive — to any of the WEPA printers on campus.
All of the stations are PrintReleaf Exchange (PRX) certified, which is a patented software platform that offsets the environmental costs of printing by planting one tree for every 8,333 pages printed — or the amount of paper harvested from one tree. All toner cartridges are recycled.
Seven WEPA print kiosks were strategically placed on campus and at Vulcan Village last summer during phase one of WEPA installation.
Since joining PRX, Cal U has offset the equivalent of 136,134 total standard pages of paper consumption by reforesting 16.34 standard trees.
Dennis Carson, UTech Director of Networking and Security, thinks those numbers will increase as the second phase of WEPA begins.
“We’re pretty excited about this because it’s easier for us to support, gives our students more options, and will offset costs and help the environment considerably.
The kiosks also add convenience and flexibility. Jobs can be sent to any kiosk. A CalCard is required to retrieve printed materials.
“Instead of having to decide which lab to physically go and sit down in and print to that printer, you could print from home or from any building on campus and walk up to any WEPA printer on campus and swipe your CalCard and retrieve the job.”
Print kiosks are integrated with Desire2Learn, Cal U’s learning management system, and also with cloud storage such as OneDrive, Google Docs and Dropbox.
“Previously in the residence halls, students could only print from a computer in that hall’s lab,” said George Albert, UTech Client Services Manager. “Now they can print from a laptop or other device in their room and go down to get their job at any time.”
Albert also said that over the past year, the USB “flash” drive was the second most-used printing format used by students.
“Students are not even using computers much anymore. They’re just bringing USB drives right up to the printers and printing from their flash drives,” Albert said.
To learn more about the cloud-based printing options at Cal U, visit calu.edu/inside/utech/printing.