Printing @ Williams

Step 1: Pre-Installation (for Faculty/Staff)

Windows users go to: Start | Settings | Printers and Faxes

• Write down the names of the printers that you currently use
  (all of the "old system" printers' names begin with lw-)
• Make note of the default printer
• Select each networked printer and delete from the list

Mac OSX users go to: System Preferences | Print & Fax

• In the left pane you'll see currently installed printers
  (all of the"old system" printers' names begin with lw-)
• Make note of the default printer
• Select each networked printer and click the minus button at the bottom of the window

Step 2: Installation & Setup

1. Install PaperCut Client Software
2. Select your printers
   (note: you will need to return to this web page to complete this step)
   

Other Information

Williams uses a print server in conjunction with PaperCut, an allotment management system, for centralized printing on campus. Using the print server makes it easier to access more than 250 printers around campus.

Typically, installing a printer means searching for a printer and finding the appropriate driver for your operating system. With the print server, you need only to configure your computer to use the print server, and the rest of the configuration is taken care of for you!

Why Does Williams Have a Printing Allotment?

The Information Technology Committee, Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives, College Libraries, Office for Information Technology, College Council and Campus Environmental Advisory Committee are seeking ways to reduce paper waste and costs, conserve energy, and minimize the environmental impacts associated with printing and paper use.

During the Fall '08, student printing alone accounted for the use of over 500,000 pieces of paper. At Williams a significant amount of paper is recycled which reduces environmental effects, but the negative impact of paper production, transportation, use and disposal is not eliminated. It is estimated that 40% of the solid mass in landfills is paper and paperboard waste in the US.

Some paper management initiatives have recently started on campus. For example, Williams is now stocking its printers with 100% post-consumer recycled paper, Human Resources department is offering online paystubs, the Controllers Office is moving toward electronic vendor payments, and Alumni Affairs and Development are increasing its use of high-quality recycled content paper for their publications and increasing their online distributions.

Several of the cost savings ideas submitted to the College recently encouraged finding ways to reduce paper use on campus and specifically cited the reduction of the proliferation of flyers and posters routinely distributed around campus. In response to these environmental and financial concerns, Williams will be enforcing printing allotments in the Fall of '09.

While printing documents that include readings, assignments, and homework is a necessary and important part of the education, we can develop more responsible printing practices.

For more information about the allotment see the Allotment Section of the FAQ below.

General Questions
Back to top

• Can I print from off-campus?
• No, you can only print from the Williams network. If your IP address starts with '137.165', you are allowed to print.
• What is duplex printing?
• Certain printers have the ability to print on both sides of the paper, this is called duplex printing.
• What is PaperCut?
• PaperCut is Williams' new paper management software system. It allows us to manage print jobs on the college's network printers, assign printing credits and encourage responsibly printing practices through an incentive system. Each student, faculty, and staff member on campus has a PaperCut account.

Printing Questions
Back to top

• Where can I print?
• There are many print locations on campus. The popular printers in the libraries can get overwhelmed during busy times. We encourage you to locate and use less heavily trafficked printers, or to print at less busy times. The following printers are public printers:
  
  

  Location	Printer Name
  CDE	CDE-1st-Floor
  CDE	CDE-2nd-Floor
  Clark Art	Clarkart-Upperlevel
  CTD	CTD-Theater-Konica
  Jesup	Jesup-Maindesk
  Jesup	Jesup-Maindesk-Color
  Paresky	Paresky-Mailroom-Public
  Sawyer library	Sawyer-Public-Level3
  Sawyer Library	Sawyer-Public-Level4
  Schow Library	Schow-Lab
  Schow Library	Schow-Public
  Schow Library	HP-Schow-Public-Color
  South Science Center	SouthScienceCtr-SSB00H

• Can I print? I am not a Williams student, faculty or staff member.
• Sawyer Library has a dispenser at which you can purchase a Williams College PaperCUT Print Card. This print card provides you a user name and password. The cost of these cards will include an initial set-up fee and will give you a small amount of printing.
  Additional credits can be added to your account. See here for details.
  Visitors to the campus for conferences or alumni events can purchase a Williams College PaperCUT Print Card from the dispenser in Sawyer Library.
  Please note that printing credits, whether purchased through the Bursar or via your PaperCut account, are for use solely with the Williams PaperCut system are not refundable.
• What about misprints? I made a mistake and printed the wrong document?
• There are no credits for user errors. The allotment was determined based on printing history, so it already takes into account that some of these inevitable printing mistakes occur. To avoid this in the future, use preview before you print.
• There was a problem with the printer, or PaperCut system. How do I get a credit?
• We understand that issues may arise and we do everything we can to make sure that the printing operations work smoothly. You should have enough print allocation on your account to get you through the semester even with a few glitches.
  If you have a problem with a particular print job and need a refund:
  1. Login to PaperCut
  2. Select Recent Print Jobs from the left-hand side menu.
  3. Find the print job and click on the request refund link on the right-hand side.
  4. IMPORTANT: Fill in the reason for the request (e.g. Printer was out of toner).
  If you experience a significant problem with your PaperCut account, please send an email to printadmin@williams.edu with the details of your problem; include your name, printer, job name and student id (and NOT your password!). We will review your request and credit your account if deemed appropriate. Printer problems should be addressed with the Client Services at X4090.
• I just set up my Mac to print using the print server, but there aren't any printers listed when I try to print.
• After configuring the print server for the first time, you need to restart your application before using the print server. If that doesn't seem to work, reboot your Mac so all applications are refreshed.
• I just set up printing, but nothing comes out of the printer.
• Make sure you are using the PaperCut print server client.
• I have a networked printer that should be listed in the print server, what do I do?
• You can notify printadmin@williams.edu with the IP address, location, and model.
• The printer release station doesn't display any of the documents that I sent to the printer. What gives?
• Make sure you are running the PaperCut client. When you send a document to the print server the PaperCut, if you aren't already logged in to PaperCut, the client will prompt you for authentication.
• I printed a PDF file and it's printing VERY slowly?
• All PDFs are not created equal. If you're running Adobe's Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Professional, choose
  File -> Print and select the Advanced button and choose the Print as Image option.
• What can I do to keep my printing to a minimum?
• There are many things that we can all do to reduce the paper and other resources used in printing. Here are a few ways to start:
  1. Print only when necessary - where possible, view documents on-screen.
  2. Print duplex whenever possible
  3. Print two-ups - if you are printing a draft, check to see if your application will allow you to print two reduced-size pages on a single side of paper
  4. Print only what you need - choose pages to print rather than always printing the entire document
  5. Print color pages separately - if your document is mostly black and white, print only the color pages on the color printer. For the rest, use the black-and-white printers
  6. Print single-spaced documents, reduce font size, and narrow margins to increase the number of words per page.
  7. If you need multiple copies of a document, print one original. Then, request photocopies to be made at Office Services. They can run color copies as well as black-and-white
• Can I print from my mobile device?
• Yes! For all mobile devices EXCEPT iPads and iPhones, follow these steps:
  1. Login to PaperCut
  2. Select Web Print from the left-hand side menu.
  3. Click on the submit a job link
  4. Select the appropriate printer, then click the Print Options and Account Selection button at the bottom
  5. Enter the number of copies and click the Upload Document button.
  6. Browse to the document location and click the Upload & Complete button.

Printing Costs

Printing Allotment Questions
Back to top

• How does my PaperCut allotment work?
• For the Fall and Spring semesters, Williams will add to your PaperCut account for free $50.00 for underclassmen (the equivalent of 500 double-sided, black-and-white pages). Seniors will be given a free allotment of $75.00 for printing due to the higher expectations of writing intensive course work. The allotment for the Winter Study semester will be $20 for all undergraduate students.

Semester	Class	Allotment
Fall	Firstyears	$50.00
Fall	Sophomores	$50.00
Fall	Juniors	$50.00
Fall	Seniors	$75.00
Winter Study/Spring	Firstyears	$70.00
Winter Study/Spring	Sophomores	$70.00
Winter Study/Spring	Juniors	$70.00
Winter Study/Spring	Seniors - non-thesis	$95.00
Winter Study/Spring	Seniors - thesis	$120.00



• I am a financial aid thesis student, can I get assistance with my printing expenses?
• Financial assistance can be secured from the Office of Financial Aid for expenses you have incurred in writing your thesis or in generating special papers or lab reports connected with Honors at graduation. You are entitled to a maximum of $125 for such items as printing, copying, binding and other related research expenses. In order to qualify for this assistance, you must submit an itemized bill to the faculty member with whom you are working so that he or she may approve the total charge. Then bring your bill to the Office of Financial Aid before graduation so that proper arrangements can be made with the Controller's Office for reimbursement directly to you.
• How was the print allotment determined?
• Printing statistics were tracked (via PaperCut) for Fall '08 through Spring '09. In the Fall, some students printed as few as 1-2 pages on networked printers while others printed upwards of 5000 pages. Since our goal is to support academic endeavors while encouraging responsible printing practices, an initial allocation of $50.00 ($75.00 for seniors) the equivalent of 500 pages double-sided pages, or 1000 pages of print, was selected.
  This allotment should meet the needs of about 90% of all students with no change in printing habits.
• How will I know if I'm getting close to using all of my current allotment?
• You will be notified three times by email that you are approaching the end of your print allotment: once when your account credit drops below $10.00 (about 100 double-sided pages remaining), again at $5.00, and finally at $2.50. You can also check your account at any time by visiting https://papercut.williams.edu. If you do not have enough pages in your current allotment for a print job, a pop-up notification will alert you and you will not be able to print it on a networked printer until you add credits to your account.
• What if I need to add printing credits to my allotment?
• Most students, with reasonable effort and management of printing practices, will be able to meet their academic printing needs with the initial allotment. While the free print allotment was designed to meet most students' academic needs, there is no guarantee that all your academic printing will be provided free of charge. Talk to your professor about getting printed course packets prepared for long readings. To add print credits to your account, check out this section in the FAQ.
• What happens to my balance at the end of the semester?
• At the end of each period (semester, winter study, and summer), any unused portion of the free allotment will be cleared from your account, and a new allotment credited to your account at the beginning of the next semester. Any remaining purchased printing credits will be carried forward each semester during your time at Williams.
• I need to print something for my student group or job. Will I get charged for those?
• If you print these documents from your personal account, your account will be debited.
  Student groups or organizatios can obtain a shared printing account (directions here), pre-pay printing credits or reimburse members who print for the group.
  Alternatively, a student organization may opt to assign someone to print on their behalf. It is then up to the student to be reimbursed by the organization. Departments should register for a department account (directions here).
• How can I determine how much money I have left on my account?
• Click here and login with your username and password

Account Questions
Back to top

• How can I determine how much money I have left on my account?
• Click here and login with your username and password
• How can I add printing credits to my account?
• Two ways:
  1. Online:
     • Login to your PaperCut account here with your username and password
     • Click on "Add Credit Online" on the left hand side
     • Select an amount from the drop down and click the "Add Value" button
     • Fill in the credit information
     
     
  2. Via the Bursar's Office (Students Only)
     • Purchase a PaperCut $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100 PaperCUT Redemption Card from the Bursar's Office in Hopkins Hall
     • After purchasing the card, login to your PaperCut account here
     • Choose Redeem Card from the left-hand side menu.
     • Enter the number on the front of the card and your account will be credited for the value on the card
• Note:Your non-refundable printing credit purchases will be rolled over each semester as long as you are a current student or affiliate.


• I have a Williams College PaperCut Print card, how can I change my password?
• Login to your PaperCut account here with your username and existing password and select Change Details

Departmental Printing Account Questions
Back to top

• Why would we need a printing account for our department?
• If you have student workers that print on behalf of your department, you should request a departmental account. After a department account is created, your student workers will be able to select the departmental account when they print.
  You will receive a weekly report showing the printing activity associated with the departmental account.
• How can I request to have a printing account created for our department?
• Send an email to printadmin@williams.edu to coordinate the account setup. At the time of setup, you will be asked to provide a list of students that are allowed to print using the departmental account.

Student Organizational Printing Account Questions
Back to top

• My student organization needs a printing account. What do we do?
• If your organization has the need to print, you should request an organization account to be created.
• Send an email to printadmin@williams.edu to coordinate account setup. At that time, an account name, password, and reports will be configured. You will be asked to provide a list of students that can print. Setup time takes about 5 minutes.
1. The account will be created with an initial balance of $5.00.
2. The organization is responsible for distributing account login information to those students responsible for printing on behalf of the organization.
3. The organization is responsible for any printing charged to that account.
4. To add printing credits, check out this section in the FAQ
5. The organization will only be given one printing account
• How can I change the password on the printing account for our organization?
• Login to the PaperCut account here with the username and password and select Change Details

Contact Us!
Back to top

• I have a technical question that isn't answered here. Who do I contact?
• Send an email to printadmin@williams.edu
• I have an environmental question. Who can I contact?
• See the Zilkha Center website.