Duke OIT - OIT rolls out ePrint allocations

 Effective August 13, 2007, Duke OIT will institute a per-semester allocation for free black-and-white laser printing at Duke's ePrint stations in libraries, computer labs, and public spaces. Duke students will receive $36 per semester in free allocation. Faculty, staff and other affiliates will receive unlimited free printing.

All documents sent to the ePrint queues will be charged $0.02 per page for single-sided and $0.01 per page for double-sided printing (minimum cost $0.02). The default allocation provides up to 3,600 pages of free double-sided printing per semester. OIT labs and the libraries will have duplex printing enabled by default on public workstations. All users are encouraged to use the duplex mode to maximize their laser printing and help reduce the impact on our environment.

Color laser printing in Duke's libraries remains $0.50 per page, and is charged directly to FLEX.

“The ePrint free allocation is designed to help all users recognize the cost and value of the ePrint service,” says Kevin Davis, Senior Manager at Student Technology Services. “It should encourage reasonable, sustainable printing habits.”

Students can request unlimited, immediate increases in their allocation in $10 increments once their available free ePrint allocation drops below $9. Users can view their available allocation and request an increase via the DukeCard section of DukePass. Students who deplete their free allocation will have print jobs charged to their FLEX account until they request an allocation increase.

Individuals without a current Duke ID card can purchase an ePrint copy card at campus libraries after August 13.

Davis noted that Duke’s print allocation system provides one of the most generous printing quotas of any campus in the United States. Most peer institutions to Duke provide very limited allocations or charge students five cents or more for every page printed, he added.

About Duke ePrint
ePrint is a Duke print management system supported by OIT in partnership with the Duke Library and DukeCard Offices that makes printing faster, easier and less wasteful. Computer users can save themselves the headaches of broken printers, empty ink cartridges or paper shortages. By installing ePrint on any computer on Duke’s network, any Duke student, faculty or staff member can send documents to a single campus print queue and then print their work on-demand by swiping their DukeCard at any one of dozens of release stations throughout Duke’s campus. Print release stations are available in all OIT computer labs, Duke libraries, and many popular campus commons. ePrint is used by over 97% of Duke undergraduates and generated over 33 million pages in the 2006-07 academic year.