Re: Unified Printing

[Richard Miller <miller () KUTZTOWN EDU>]

We largely do this.  We have two main print servers on our campus:

One for faculty and staff departmental laser printers across the University
One for student (lab & library) laser printing

This has allowed us to centralized management of the printers.  It also allows
us to add printers for people via login scripts.  In general it has worked out
well.  On the downside, many faculty have printers on their desktop which still
must be managed the old fashioned way.

The main challenge we have is printer drivers.  Departments tend to purchase
any printer they want and then expect us to make it work.  We end up with
printer drivers interfering with each other and causing problems for the whole
print server.  We actually had to re-do the student print server this past
semester due to driver issues.  Because of this, we will be much more selective
of the printers we allow to be installed on the server in the future.  Oddball
printers may be set up locally on the clients.  My best suggestion is to
standardize on a limited number of printer models across campus if possible.

On the student print server, we are able to track print usage and (sort of)
limit the number of pages per student using software called PCounter.  While I
am sure there are better options, it does a decent job and is cheap.  We do not
currently charge for printing, but this may be inevitable.  We impose a 300
page per semester limit for students, but they are able to freely request more
pages via a web form.  By doing this, we have reduced our printing by about 30%
(very roughly).  We are starting to see the number of pages creep upward again
so charging may be inevitable (or at least no free increases).

On the faculty and staff print server, we do not track or limit in any way.  It
is merely a convenience for us to manage things rather than configuring each
client.


Rick Miller
Manager of Servers and Security
Kutztown University


Shamblin, Quinn (shamblqn) wrote:
> Question for the larger universities out there:  Is there anyone out there that is doing unified printing in a 
> complex environment (multiple colleges/departments/buildings spread out over an area with a large volume of varied 
> printing needs)?
>
> Just to make sure we are on the same page: Unified Printing is a "centralized means by which an enterprise can manage 
> and better utilize their printing assets".  In this type of setup, all print jobs for an entire institution are 
> typically set to a print server or servers then routed back to the printer.
>
> If you have been able to do this successfully, what approach did you take? Did you achieve any of the touted 
> advantages?
> (The ability to monitor printer usage, consistency of printer setup/security across the institution, cost savings due 
> to having the ability to understand/manage the institution's print needs as a whole, reduced need for staff/training 
> due to centralized control)
>
> I'd be interested in any success stories in a complex environment ...or any horror stories for that matter :)
>
> Thanks!
>
> Regards,
>
> Quinn R. Shamblin
> Senior Information Security Officer
> GCFA, CISSP, PMP
> University of Cincinnati
> (513) 556-0803
> quinn.shamblin () uc edu

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