Free printing remains for members of some campus programs
Incoming ASCC President Lilia Alvarez noticed the new printing stations have several drawbacks, but still welcomed the transition to the Wepa system campus-wide on June 24.
Alvarez said librarians visited the ASCC last spring to demonstrate how much paper was being used by students.
“It was a problem, students were printing multiple things, school and non-school related… Printers were getting jammed constantly,” Alvarez said. “It just got to the point, basically, where it didn’t benefit the school, especially if it’s not being used wisely for all of us.”
Over the summer, Citrus College adopted a printing system Wepa which allows students to print from several printers across campus. The Citrus Board of Trustees approved a purchase order to Wepa for $100,000 in July.
“Initially, the ASCC passed a resolution that every student should have 100 color pages, but their proposal was rejected,” said Rosario Garcia, Student Life Supervisor.
Wepa does not permit free printing as part of their contract with the college, so the only campus organizations that own printers may offer free printing.
Students now must pay to print documents, unless campus groups they join subsidize the cost.
Alvarez said ASCC will still be able to print its documents for free as will members of EOP&S, CalWorks, CARE, the Veterans Center, Stem Trio and the honors program.
The Wepa system has not delivered ease of use to students familiarizing themselves with the new method.
“I’ve used the printers myself and it’s difficult sometimes,” Alvarez said. “There are some computers, I’ve personally experienced in Student Services, that it won’t pop up a code. So, without the code, you cannot use the Wepa printer to print, so it’s kind of a hassle there.”
Campus Wepa printers allow students to print from smartphones or laptops. Before the Wepa system was installed on June 24, students had to log in to a Citrus network computer then request a print to a campus printer.
Students are still learning how to use the new system.
“If students are using their cell phones, they’ve come to me with that it’s not uploading on there,” Alvarez said.
“I know in the campus center, there are little posters with instructions and things like that, but I feel like there should be more around, especially in the Student Services.”
Printing costs 12 cents for a single-sided black and white page and costs up to 99 cents for a double-sided color page.
Students may pay with a credit card or with a mobile payment system like Apple Pay or Google Pay. Students may also charge the cost to Venmo or PayPal accounts.
“It seems like a good idea to have these printers located all over campus, it helps the librarians as well,” said Yachi Rivas, former Citrus Student Trustee.
Rivas said she was she was glad librarians could focus on their job — to help students with research questions.
“The librarians kept telling us that all they used the free printing for was for printing out concert tickets or some sort of papers with their social security number on it, then they would throw it away,” Rivas continued.
Rivas also said she thinks students have taken advantage of the opportunity they have been given.
“We tried to get free printing to stay, for only a certain amount with the new WEPA system, but the (cost) was too big for the college,” Rivas said. “I think it’s a good idea, we no longer have to run to the library last minute if we need to get something printed out. I remember that was always a problem for me.”
With WEPA students can download the app and print from their phones or directly through a USB port located on the print stations.
Citrus Public Service Librarian, Sarah Bosler, believes that charging students to print will discourage students from doing so.
“During the last school year, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, students printed over $900,000 sheets of paper,” Bosler said. “That’s 68 trees.”
Bosler said students would probably need time to adjust to the new printing system. Bosler was helping a couple students who did not understand how to print using the new system during an interview with the Clarion.
Many students asked about how to send documents to the printer. Some asked how to pay to print.
ASCC commissioner Jeanete Garcia said she had difficulty adjusting.
“I tried it once,” Garcia said. “It was a little bit difficult for me and someone else had to come and help me.”
Wepa Vice President of Sales Troy Pepper said students usually need to adjust when his company’s printing system is installed.
“At first there is a lot of questions that the students have and printing goes into a decline, but once they get used to it, it goes back up,” Pepper said.
Pre-nursing major Joyce Arnaldo said she was in a rush to print out her homework when she hit a roadblock.
“For a first-time user, it was a little challenging, a little bit of a back and forth and I consider myself a tech-savvy person,” Arnoldo said.
Arnoldo said she spent a long time trying to get the printer to release her homework.
“I think you need a person there helping students figure out how to print their stuff,’’ Arnaldo said. “Because students will get very frustrated. There are so many options that it’s overwhelming.”
Another ASCC representative, Naty Soto said he preferred the new way.
“I’ve used it,” Soto said. “Honestly, it is a little confusing, but I honestly like the printing policy now because if you want free printing and you actually do need free printing, it is offered to the programs you’re in.”
