Since the Print Smart program at Ball State partnered with print management system Pharos in 2015, Ball State has seen a drastic decrease in paper usage and an increase in savings. 

“By going into the Print Smart system...the University Libraries have saved one million sheets of paper in the fiscal year of 2016-17...and reduced library print volume by 22 percent,” said Fawn Gary, interim associate vice president of information technology.

The program was started as a way for the university to reduce waste, be environmentally sustainable and reduce long-term costs. 

How Print Smart saves so much paper waste is simple: Students and administration can queue printing jobs and release them when they’re ready to print. If the student or faculty member finds an error in their online document before it’s ready to print, it’s just as easy to delete the previous print job, so the paper copy is error-free. 

Furthermore, all printing options default to printing on both sides of the paper to cut down on further waste within the process. 

Not all departments have Print Smart technology completely integrated in their facilities. Some printers are too old for use with Print Smart, but the device is only replaced when it no longer functions. 

Andrew Wynbissinger, print smart systems administrator, said he hopes students see the program as a convenience to them — a convenience offered to them at numerous locations and also available on mobile devices. 

Students can queue printing jobs on their phones at Bracken Library, Architecture 116, Robert Bell 165, Student Center 118, North Quad 350, and Cooper Nursing 016 if they need a quick paper copy on their way to class. 

Ball State is currently in the process of getting additional Print Smart printers in the Atrium and L.A. Pittenger Student Center. 

Contact Adam Pannel with comments at arpannel@bsu.edu.

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