[media-credit id=10 align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]

Students at Colorado Mesa University have no shortage of printer access among campus. Each building, including residence halls, is equipped with a computer lab with printing capabilities. This campus-wide feature makes it easy for students to have the proper material to take to class.

Even if said student is running late and needs to print off an assignment that is due, right before class, MavPrint is there to help, in a timely and efficient manner. The CMU internet technology department has recently decided to make double-sided pages the default for student printing. In most cases, it doesn’t matter if a document is double-sided. Not only does this reduce the amount of paper, but also the price of printing, for students.

Each student is allotted a certain amount of printer money at the beginning of each semester, which does not go far for some students, whose majors require them to print a lot of material. Each student is allotted ten dollars a semester and can use this at any of the MavPrint printers on campus. Students are able to add money to their account by going into the MavCard office or logging onto MavZone.

According to the CMU website, “In 2009 CMU’s Associated Student Government approved the implementation of print management software, in order to reduce waste.” Faculty has established very fair rates for students: Single-sided, black & white – $.05, double-sided, black & white – $.08 and color – $.25

Using this system is extremely simple; after submitting a print job, a MavPrint window will pop up requesting the typical MavZone username and password, click the box next to the job and then select “pay and print.”

In the vicinity of each printer is a recycling bin, for when the wrong or unneeded paper is printed.  

Many students, like sophomore Hugh Heinrich, do not like to buy unnecessary books; therefore, he uses MavPrint printers to print off necessary pages from his online textbook.

“I have saved so much time and hassle utilizing the printers on campus, I wish I would have known about them my freshman year,” Heinrich said.

It seems that some do not realize the features that CMU offers students. Students should be aware of these, considering many are funded by part of their tuition. It is very refreshing to know that technology faculty is promoting a green campus.

With over 12,000 students, it would seem that our campus creates a large amount of waste; therefore, it is important that students are mindful of this as well. Students and faculty should be conscious to do all they can to cut back on waste. The CMU website offers some helpful tips for printing.

Don’t print drafts for every single revision. Print six slides to a page when printing powerpoint pages. Always be sure to use the “print preview” option. Edit and proofread before printing and if a document can be sent via email, don’t print a hard copy.

For a list of all the printer locations on campus, visit the CMU technology department website and click on the MavPrint section.