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Printing - Frequently Asked Questions

Printing at Purdue

Why was the print quota system implemented?
The print quota system was implemented to reduce costs due to wasteful and careless printing.  By establishing a combination of monetary quota and a cost recovery system for those who exceeded the quota, future increases in costs and resources are more controlled and access to those who need printing is still provided.  The following was considered when determining how many free prints to allot:

  • Costs for paper, toner, printer repair and replacement
  • Costs per page for printing that accounts for variable size paper, single or duplex, black and white or color, and glossies
  • Current and projected costs of printing
  • What other Big Ten schools were doing for controlling printing costs.
  • During the quota pilot, a 40 percent decrease in printing resulted as users were more conservative about printing to stay within their allocation.

Who may have a printing account?
All faculty, staff and students with a Purdue career account have access to print using ITaP printers.  Each is provided with an allotment of prints using the print quota system. The print quota system was implemented to reduce the costs related to careless and wasteful printing.

  • Print Allotments (per semester): Below are the printing allotments and page costs

    Printing Allotments     Page Costs      
    Faculty $40   Black/White 8.5 x 11 0.04  
    Staff $40   Black/White 11 x 17 0.04  
    Undergraduate Students $20   Color 8.5 x 11 0.12  
    Graduate Students $40   Color 11 x 17 0.12  
    Student Organizations $10      

Can the general public or guests use ITaP Printers?
Only users with a Purdue career account may access ITaP instructional computers and printers.  Purdue Libraries have options available for guests and visitors. Special event accounts are given a small stipend for printing.

How do I print?
Any faculty, staff or student may access ITaP printers using their Purdue career account login and an instructional lab computer.  Local printers are automatically mapped to the instructional lab computers. (Refer to mapping instructions)

How much can I print at a time?
Please limit print jobs to 50 pages per print.  Splitting large print jobs into smaller ones allows others to print in a timely manner.  Although there is no limit on what you can print, please use common courtesy when printing large quantities of paper in the ITaP labs.

Can I use my own paper?
Because paper quality and type vary, not all paper is well suited for the laser printers. ITaP does not allow paper provided by the user to be used in ITaP laser printers.  Custom paper maybe used when printing with Printing Services or on your personal printer.

Does ITaP help support personal printers in my dorm room or apartment?
ITaP is not responsible for personal printers that need support or repair.

Can I cancel a print job once it has been sent to the printer?
Once a job is sent to the printer it cannot be cancelled.  The user must pay for the print.  If a large print job was released by mistake, users must see the Lab Assistant on duty.  If no assistant is available, call the phone number listed on the printer. A request for a refund can then be made.

What’s the future of printing at Purdue?
ITaP continually investigates and researches the newest and most innovative technologies.  The same is true for printing. Printing at Purdue will look much different in the future with the elimination of banner pages, updated printers and the installation of print release stations.  Watch for news about these changes and more, as more efficient printing processes come to Purdue.

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Computing/Printing Locations

Where are printers located?
Printers are located in all ITaP Instructional Computing labs.  View the list of printing locations here:  .

Will printers still remain in residence halls after the labs are gone?
In Fall 2009, some ITaP labs in residence halls will no longer be available for use, but printers will remain in the residence halls for use. (Refer to mapping instructions)

Where can I print color pages?
Color printers are located in Hicks Undergraduate Library (hiksb853-c), in the Math building (mathb10-c) and in Lynn (lynn2121-2c).

Where/how can I print larger documents?
Color Printers have the capacity to print 11 x 17 inch documents.  Specialty printing and large plotter printing may be done by Printing Services.

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Access ITaP Printers Off-campus

How do I print from home to an ITaP printer?
To print from a personal computer to an instructional lab or printer use the VPN.  View the complete instructions on how to connect here:  http://www.itap.purdue.edu/connections/vpn/ and click on the system information under “Setup” on the left side of the Web page.

How do I print using PAL and my laptop?
Visit https://www.purdue.edu/goldanswers/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=040967644925021 for detailed instructions.

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Print Quota

How do you get a print quota?
All faculty, staff and students with a Purdue career account have access to print using ITaP printers.  Each are provided with an allotment of free prints using the print quota system implemented in June 2006.

If I am taking more credit hours, shouldn’t I have a larger quota?
Quotas are based upon the average printing needs of a typical student or faculty member. Departments may choose to pay an incremental fee to have students quotas increased based on the classes they are taking. However, ITaP cannot determine what acceptable print quotas would be based on course schedules.

Can TAs who teach lab classes have a larger quota?
We are not planning to subsidize work that TA's are doing. Our recommendation would be that a department provides a work printer for their TAs to use, or that they subsidize their quotas.

How can I tell what my quota is? How many pages have I used this semester?
Quotas will be tracked and indicated on each banner page.  To view your quota visit: https://www.purdue.edu/apps/ics/a/Account .  You can also view your printing history from this web page.

Will my unused quota from the summer semester be rolled over into the fall semester?
Student print quotas can be rolled over from fall to spring and from spring to summer.  Student print quotas cannot be rolled over from summer to fall.  Print quotas will be reset at the end of each semester, the day after grades are due to the Registrar.

What happens when I exceed my allotted print quota?
When quotas are exceeded, students can continue to print but will be charged and billed through the Purdue billing system. Invoices will be distributed 3 times a year, at the end of each semester.

Will I be warned when I am about to run out of pages?
Quota information will be provided on the banner page, so individuals know how much a job cost and what their quota balance is currently. Your print history and remaining quota are also displayed on your account information page.

How much is this going to cost me?
You will be only be charged for prints in excess of your allotted quota. You are not charged for the quota itself.

How many free prints do I get? How much do prints cost?
Free prints are determined by your status as a student or employee.  The cost for an individual page depends on the size of paper and if the paper is printed in black/white or color.  These amounts have been calculated using the costs for paper, toner, printers and maintenance specific to each type of printer.  These costs are subject to change.

Can I continue to print after I use my quota?
Students may continue to print after the print quota has been used.  A fee per print will be charged. Faculty, Staff and Student Organizations must request a supplement to print beyond their quota.

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Printing for Student Organizations

What is the quota for student organizations?
Student organizations are allotted $10 for printing.  By logging on to an instructional computer using the organizations account information, printing costs will be taken from the organization’s quota.

Where do I find my organization’s log in information?
The president or faculty advisor for the organization may use the ITaP account tool to learn the account name and set the password for the student organization.  Visit https://www.purdue.edu/apps/account/AccountTools .

How do we add more money to our print quota
Print and fill out the Request for Additional Print Quota form (PDF). (add link) The president or advisor of the student organization must sign the form and submit it to the Business Office for Student Organizations in Schleman Hall, Room 213.

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Departmental Printing

How can our department supplement a user’s quota?
The quota supplement tool can be found at the following link: https://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/facilities/instructionallabs/printing/uniprint.cfm . You will need a valid Departmental fund number for this quota supplement to be charged against. The tool is for supplementing individuals, not for supplementing groups or classes.

Can student workers get a larger quota?
If a particular department or unit would like to subsidize printing for their student workers, we have the capacity to do so. In some cases, the business unit will have printers that are used for administrative purposes and will not be under the quota system. In this instance, student workers will not be charged when they print.

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Banner/Cover Pages

Why do banner pages exist?
Banner pages are used and needed to identify individual user’s printer output.  An ivory cover sheet separates and identifies each print job. Currently, the banner page is the only way users identify individual print jobs.

Do I get charged for a banner page?
No. Users are not charged for the banner pages.  Users are only charged for the documents or pages printed.

Why are advertisements and other announcements on the banner pages?
Advertisements and announcements are placed on banner pages as a better use of space and resources and to provide additional information for users.

How can banner pages be eliminated? They are wasteful.
Until a new identification method is developed, banner pages are the only way to provide users with the correct output.  If users are concerned with wasteful printing and excess pages, each instructional lab is equipped with a paper recycling bin.  Please recycle pages that are not needed or consolidate print jobs to use just one banner page. Testing of print release stations is occurring during the Spring 2010 semester in STEW 102. There will be no cover pages used in STEW 102 with the print release stations.

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Conserve Paper and Resources

How can I conserve paper and resources in the ITaP labs? There are many ways to conserve paper and resources in the instructional labs.  By being conscious of wasteful and careless printing, less paper, toner and resources may be used.

Format your paper :  By changing the default margins of 1.25” to 1” or smaller, you may be able to reduce the number of pages you print.  Also, spell check documents.  By reducing spelling errors and mistakes, you may avoid reprints.  Decreasing font size can also lessen the amount of paper used in printing if acceptable by your instructors.

Only print what you need : Try printing only final copies of your documents. Also avoid printing emails and Web pages. Read emails and web pages online or save them to your computer for future reading.

Submit assignments electronically : Ask your instructors if they will accept assignments electronically by submitting them through electronically.

Print multiple pages on a single sheet of paper : Try using duplex printing or print two or four pages on a single side of paper to include even more printing pages on a single sheet of paper.

Only click “print” once :  Even if your job hasn’t printed yet, it still may be in the queue.  Pressing “print” more than once will add multiple jobs to the queue, use more paper, and use more of your print quota.

Use “Print Preview ”:  Check your document before printing.  Using “Print Preview” will allow you to view the page as you want it printed and also allow you to make needed changes.

Print only a selection of the page: Print a selection of the text from a document or web page by highlighting the text you want to print and left-clicking and dragging across it.  From the “File” menu, select Print .  In the print window under “Print Range” choose Selection and then click Ok .  Only the selected text should print.

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Print Rollover

Can I transfer my existing quota to someone else?
No, print quotas cannot be transferred to other people.  You may roll over your quota at the end of each semester to the following semester (i.e. Fall to Spring semester), except for summer to fall semester.

How do I roll over my quota from each semester?
At the end of each semester, the banner page lists directions to request a roll over.  The printing homepage also has a link to roll over print quota. To roll over your quota go to https://www.purdue.edu/apps/ics/a/Account .  Then in the accounts list, click on ITaP Printing Quota/History . Then you may request a roll over.  You can also view your printing history.  Rollover can be done from the first day of the new printing semester until the “Last day to cancel a class without appearing on record” as in dropping or adding a class. Rollovers are only available to undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty and Staff cannot rollover quota allotment.

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Duplex Printing

Why isn’t it cheaper to print duplex?
The cost of the paper is very small relative to the cost of a print job. Much of the cost is tied up in the cost of the printing hardware purchase and support and the toner used for printing. Very little of the cost of a print job relates to the paper. In the past, duplex used to be the default in the labs and it actually created more waste.

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Printer Output

What kind of printing issues must occur to get prints credited back to my account?
Printer errors and jams: Printing errors and jams do occur and any loss of print pages due to such problems will be credited back to your account.  If output is damaged by the printer, users must have the damaged pages present when reporting problems to the lab assistant on duty.  Users must provide the banner page (ivory cover sheet) and the printed output.  If the document did not print, users must provide the date, time and printer location where the document was submitted for printing.  Credit requests must be submitted within seven days of the initial printing problem to be eligible to receive credit.
Printing errors attributed to the user will NOT be credited. Some of these errors include :

  • Printing to the wrong printer
  • Printing on the wrong paper size
  • Not picking up job from printer
  • Printing wrong document
  • Printing with the wrong orientation andscape vs. portrait)
  • Multiple copies of the same document (when only one was desired)
  • Failure to logoff  and another student uses your account
  • Print jobs delayed several minutes due to heavy user load
  • Print jobs that are lost or thrown away

What if my output is lost or damaged?
It is your responsibility to pick up output from the printers.  Printing errors attributed to the user will not be credited
back to the user’s account.  If output is damaged by the printer, users must have the damaged pages present when reporting problems to the lab assistant on duty.  Users must provide the banner page (ivory cover sheet) and the printed output.  If the document did not print, users must provide the date, time and printer location where the document was submitted for printing.  Credit requests must be submitted within seven days of the initial printing problem to be eligible for to receive credit.

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