Due to system updates, printing was free in the library the first few weeks of school. The catch, however, was that taking advantage of the free printing meant waiting in line for the sole functioning printer to slowly print off dozens of pages of backlogged documents.

According to Jim LaCreta, the chief information officer of Information Technology Services, the reason for the disruption is that during a joint initiative with the Procurement and Sustainability offices to lower the University’s printing costs and use of resources like paper and toner, “we encountered an issue with the software that controls the card-swipe function.” 

LaCreta continued in an email to the Justice, “The only option we had, besides free printing, was to not have printing at all, which was never considered.”

However, this situation will soon be resolved, he said. Information and Technology Services has replaced the single printer in the library with four high capacity card-swipe printers, LaCreta wrote. 

“The ITS team has been working diligently to resolve the issue with our software vendor. … Printers elsewhere on campus will be updated over the next few days and weeks.” Though printing will no longer be free, it will be reliable and quick once again, according to LaCreta.

Along with a more sustainable set of printers, ITS announced to the community via email that as part of the changes, individuals may soon be able to print from their mobile devices, a feature students have long desired. “ITS staff has been testing this new feature and we look forward to making it available to campus in the coming weeks,” LaCreta wrote. 

 —Emily Blumenthal