Print Release: Students

[nick3young]

Hi All,

 

We have installed a new print release system over the summer. It's a basic setup where a teacher prints to a single queue and then can collect their job from any printer using their release code.

 

The problem is with students. If a teacher wants their group of 30 students to print, then each student must visit the printer to release it with their unique code. You can imagine the chaos that then occurs around the MFD printers.

 

How do other schools manage their student printing on a similar 'print release' system? And how do you manage the budget of students?

 

Thanks

Nick

[Steve21]

Budget wise, codes are per department and given out in the lessons if they want to print. Students don't use individual codes etc, but badges/cards to swipe at printer so it's quick to release a job really. Shouldn't take much time at all to release and print unless it's huge documents.

 

Steve

[MicrodigitUK]

You have 4 options for print release.

 

Username and password (Long time at printer)

User Code (faster than username and password but students need to remember there code, plus it is easy to remember others codes)

RFID Card/Fob (Faster than above options and can be linked with cashless catering/library card)

Biometrics (almost as fast as RFID but can slow down with sticky student fingers, but more secure than the RFID Cards)

 

So without RFID or Biometrics, using codes is your fastest option with print release.

[nick3young]

Thanks for the responses.

 

We use ID cards with staff but students don't have these so they must use a code. We do use biometrics for cashless catering and have been told that we can use their existing fingerprint data for our print system.... so this is an option.

 

However, thought it is certainly quicker, I don't think fingerprint/card over a code is that much quicker.

 

On our old system, I would get all of my students to print at the end of the lesson and then send a single student to go and collect the print-outs from the printer. Now, whether it is code, card or finger, each and every student must go to the printer.

 

Do your students leave lessons to release their print-outs or do they collect at lunch and break?

[CyberNerd]

The problem is with students. If a teacher wants their group of 30 students to print, then each student must visit the printer to release it with their unique code. You can imagine the chaos that then occurs around the MFD printers.

 

How do other schools manage their student printing on a similar 'print release' system? And how do you manage the budget of students?

 

 

The students are pretty vocal in informing the teachers that they should be saving the environment and sharing their work with the teachers via Google Classroom.

 

As for budgets, we pay centrally for student printing. Each yeargroup gets a top up per month - if students go over quota that's it until next month. Upon the ok from a head of department we will transfer "money" (that the department pays for) to the student account. That is very rare.