Instituting a Print Management Solution
By Librarica LLC
Print management enables libraries to recoup some of the costs associated with providing printing to the public. Additionally, the resulting reduction in print waste saves libraries money and is very “greenâ€. Libraries must take into account financial constraints, staffing constraints, and space constraints when deciding on a print management flow. Library policies and preferences must also be considered.
Many libraries elect to provide a free printing allotment to patrons. Patrons who go over their free printing allotment are charged for their print jobs. Some libraries choose to give free printing allotments only to patrons who have valid library cards, and library guests must pay for all print jobs.
It is essential that a print management solution alert patrons of the number of pages they are printing and the cost of their print jobs prior to actually printing. Patrons, who mistakenly generate a large print job, are able to cancel that large job prior to sending it to the printer and can regenerate the correct print job. Making patrons aware of the size and cost of their print jobs eliminates abandoned print jobs and therefore eliminates print waste.
To protect patron privacy, some libraries choose to use a print release station. All print jobs are sent to the print release station, and patrons must log in to the print release station to retrieve and print their jobs. The requirement to log in to the print release station prevents patrons from viewing and printing each other’s print jobs. The print release station is typically adjacent to the printer, so patrons can pick up their print jobs as soon as they are printed. This protects patron privacy, but it requires an additional computer and therefore increases cost and requires more space.
Libraries with limited space and funds may prefer not to use print release stations. Instead, accounting is performed at the workstation and patrons print directly to the printer. Coversheets can be printed to protect patron privacy. Patrons can even store their print jobs locally and send all of the print jobs to the printer when they are ready to collect them. In this print flow, patrons must have enough funds in their free printing and paid printing accounts to cover the cost of the print jobs prior to printing.
Vending hardware may be used to provide a higher level of self-service to patrons. Patrons can pay for their print jobs and deposit funds into their paid printing accounts using the vending hardware. Adding credit/debit cards as method of payment is another option. Vending hardware and credit/debit card processing automate the process of payment for printing and reduce staff involvement. However, these options increase the cost of the print management solution.
As an alternative to vending hardware, staff can accept payment for printouts or deposit money into paid printing accounts. Choosing to use paid printing accounts can reduce the number of cash transactions staff must handle. Patrons can make deposits into their paid printing accounts with staff, and then print day after day until their paid printing account is depleted. This is advantageous over staff having to collect money for each print job. This approach is more staff intensive over using vending hardware, but it is desirable when the cost of hardware is prohibitive.
More and more libraries offer wireless internet access to patrons who bring laptops to the library. This poses a new print management challenge. Some libraries do not offer printing to wireless users at all. Other libraries allow printing by having patrons save their work onto a disk and print the document from one of the library’s computers. This approach is time consuming for patrons and relies on the compatibility of the library’s software with the patron’s documents. Print management for wireless users can be handled using software solutions that enable wireless users to print to the library’s printers while enforcing the print charges and utilizing the library’s existing free print allotments, paid printing accounts, and print release stations.
In addition, it is important that statistics are tracked for all aspects of printing and accounting. Libraries can use these statistics to determine the price of print jobs and to justify future expenditures.
In conclusion, the library, prior to instituting a print management solution, must consider many issues and policies. However, a well planned print management solution will not only save staff time by automating the mundane tasks of page counting and collecting payment for print jobs, but it will also reduce waste in the library. A library that reduces waste is a greener library.
Librarica LLC offers solutions for the management of printers and wired/wireless computers in public and academic libraries and computer labs.
www.librarica.com