Increased Printing Frequency in Binghamton University
The availability of electronic study materials seems to have an unexpected side effect, at least in the case of Binghamton University in upstate New York. This was discussed in a news item on Pipe Dream, the student-run newspaper of Binghamton University.
Apparently, some school officials are worried about the printing habits of students. BU provides students with a weekly printing quota that is already included in their tuition. Recently, this allocation was changed from a page limit to a monetary limit. The system works by providing students with a basic amount worth of printing at the start of the semester. This is then incremented by $2 every week thereafter, with printing computed at 5 cents per page.
Students who go beyond their allocation for the week can still print, charging the extra pages to their BUC$ card. The University’s Academic Computing Services Director, James L. Wolf, was quoted in the article as saying that their “income from overflow printing in the past year was three times more than the previous year”.
Who would say “No” to extra income? But then again, that income indicates increased printing volume. This semester, the University reportedly used 10% more paper than what they used the previous fall.
And this is despite the fact that about half of printing is being done on duplex printers which were installed the previous year.
Concern for printing and paper use is evident in students as well as school officials, however, which is a good sign. There are student groups such as the New York Public Interest Research Group, Engineers without Borders and Student Environmental Action Coalition that are reportedly looking for ways to raise awareness on campus regarding the school’s printing statistics and provide students and faculty members with other alternatives to excessive printing.
The library is also pitching in, coming up with the slogan “What goes online, stays online,” and investing in electronic databases of academic journals.
Tags: Binghamton University, Binghamton University printer, double-sided printing, duplex printing, limit printing, printing frequency, save paperRelated posts
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