Printing Services Gets An Upgrade, At A Cost

Elizabeth Sweeney, Contributing Writer

The costs incurred while attending college seem to keep increasing. Now after six years, Baldwin Wallace University is increasing the price of printing. BW wants to keep printing prices affordable while still being able to pay for new and improved technology and services.
BW installed the Pharos print release stations in 2008, allowing each student a $25 printing quota. The cost per page for black and white pages used to be $.05 for single-sided and duplex pages and the cost per page for color pages were $.25 for single-sided and duplex pages.
Now, the cost per page for black and white pages are $.07 for single-sided and $.12 for duplex pages. The cost per page for color pages are $.30 for single-sided and $.50 for duplex pages.
Despite these changes, the $25 printing quota will remain intact. However, students will not be able to print as many pages without paying for the excess cost.
Melissa Bauer, Manager of User Services, says students used to receive a few free prints once they reached their quota.
“Now, once a student has used their quota, the per-page charges for excess prints are sent to their billing statement,” Bauer said.
Many BW students may be worrying about running out of money on their printing account, but Bauer reassures that this is not likely to happen for most students. “Based on previous statistics, it is still projected that most students will not exceed their free print quota, despite the increase.  Students can monitor the balance in their printing account on Blackboard.”
Along with the rising costs of paper, toner, and ink, the cost of upgrading to new technology and equipment is also the cause for rising printing prices. “Last year, wireless and mobile print options were also added,” Bauer said. “These technologies that are in high-demand have associated costs.”
One benefit of increasing printing costs has also been the decrease of wasteful printing. Installing the $25 quota has caused a decrease in the amount of paper thrown away in the recycle bins.
“Duplex printing is certainly an environmentally-friendly option that is not only encouraged, but desired by students who are highly in favor of sustainability matters,” Bauer said.
Bauer also believes that students will reduce the need for printing services by using Dropbox and other virtual resources. Although students cannot print as much as before without paying a higher price, there has not been a negative reaction.
“Because inflation increases the price of almost everything each year, it’s difficult to argue with a small increase after six years,” Bauer said. “Students understand that new print options they desire come with an associated cost.
The primary goal has always been to provide students with access to affordable, high-quality printing and to continue to respond to the demand for increased mobility in this digital age of technology.”
For more information on these changes, call Melissa Bauer at (440)-826-6961, send an email to [email protected], or visit help.bw.edu.