From the human traffic jam of Putnam's to the snaking procession at the University Bookstore, UB students are no strangers to long lines.
However, administrators are developing plans to relieve one of the UB's most infamous delays -- the wait for printouts from public site printers -- within the next year.
To limit the amount of pages a student could print for free, UB officials may begin to monitor each student's usage. Officials are also considering a plan to separate print jobs among different printers based on the size of the job.
Many students on campus have expressed frustration with the lines at public site printers, such as those in the Undergraduate Library, where students have waited until the next day for printouts.
"It's just ridiculous sometimes," said Mike Nowakowski, a senior interdisciplinary studies major. "It's hard enough sometimes just to find a computer, and then if you do find one, you have to wait hours to retrieve your printouts."
Linda Kingsbury, associate director for user services at Computing and Information Technology, said the administration is working hard to reduce the length of the wait.
To help prevent excessive paper waste and to reduce turnaround time, CIT is contemplating an idea that centers on installing swipe card machines at UB computing terminals to monitor initially the amount of pages that individual students are printing. The system, as reported in the Buffalo News on Aug. 30, 2003, would require a student to swipe their UB card before printing.
Mike Dray, a senior chemical engineering major, thinks the policy could limit wasteful printing.
"I think that swipe card system is a really good idea," said Dray. "Even if not really on your card, but on your IT name. You could print out maybe 500 pages per semester, and then you got billed for more. Anyone using more than 500 pages per semester is just wasting paper."
Officials are also considering separating large jobs to printers designated for that purpose.
"One solution CIT is looking at involves a change in the printing system so that there is a different level of service for different size jobs," says Kingsbury.
According to Kingsbury, reducing printer waste is a main priority. With increased Internet capabilities, officials believed that UB would go almost completely paperless due to the fact that all documents and information that students could need would be posted on the Internet, eliminating the need for handouts.
But as more and more information appears on the Internet, including class syllabi, the need for students to have it in paper form grows and grows; coupled with the fact that many students use the printers as copy machines, that is an equation for serious paper waste, Kingsbury said.
Beth Evancho, a junior communication major, thinks the separate printer idea would be the most fair.
"If I had a large number of printouts, I would expect to wait longer for them," Evancho said. "I like the idea of two separate systems for large and small jobs."
However, not all students are ready to completely support the idea of separating printing jobs based on size.
According to Dray, a major problem is that students print things out from the Internet. He doubts that the proposals would really save time.
"I'm not sure how much time it will cut out," Dray said. "It would be better if people couldn't print out everything on the Internet, a lot of people print stuff they don't even read."
While these ideas will take time to be implemented, if implemented at all, Kingsbury offers assurances that any changes made to the printing system will not immediately increase the UB full-time undergraduate technology fee, currently at $269.75 per semester.
For the time being, UB students will have to deal with long printer delays. According to Kingsbury, students can either wait in line, or follow some simple advice.
"Don't wait until the last minute to print something," Kingsbury said. "Plan ahead."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
