Printing program causes snafus

Some students have been caught unaware by a new printing scheme that's causing commotion in a campus computer lab and sending some users home unhappy.

Officials say the program will cut back on the messy stacks of paper that overflow from the printers in the Undergraduate Library's computer lab, but some students say they have yet to see its benefits.

The new Pharos program can send printing jobs to any one of the four lab printers regardless of a computer's location. It aims to cut wasteful printing, to help students identify the printer to which a job is going and to allow wireless printing.

University officials said they hope to reduce excessive printing through a cancellation option and by showing students a running total of the number of pages they have printed that semester.

Only eight of the lab's 65 stations employ the new program because it is still in the pilot stage.

Lab assistant Shelley Fullwood said she hopes the program will cut down on reprinting because students will be able to find their print jobs easily. She also said that because the possibility of charging for printing might lie in students' future, they should be more conservative in their printing.

"I think the fear of charging will definitely make people more responsible and less wasteful because right now, our recycling bins are constantly filled with wasted printing jobs," she said.

But some students who have used the new program said they do not like the change.

Junior Megan Porter said it is making things more difficult.

"I feel like it's a nuisance because when you're printing documents here, you want things to be as simple and quick as possible. But (the program) is interfering with that," Porter said.

She said she was not aware of the program's existence and assumed that when her printing job did not print from the expected machine that it did not go through - forcing her to reprint.

But not all students disapprove of the Pharos system.

Senior Derek Sisterhen said printing is more efficient because students no longer have to guess from which printer their documents will emerge.

Other changes also could be forthcoming.

Jimmy Satterwhite, Davis Library computer lab manager, suggested giving each student a printing quota each semester.

After exceeding the quota, students would pay a per-sheet fee.

Sisterhen agreed that a quota system would work well, saying he already uses a similar scheme as a student in the Kenan-Flagler Business School that has served him well in the past.

Sherry Graham, acting assistant vice chancellor for user support and engagement, made the final decision to implement the program.She said she hopes the program will cut excessive printing and be a more effective operating system.

"We want to do whatever we can to help people to be more efficient and, at the same time, not use a lot of paper to accomplish that task."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.