Re: Unified Printing

[Joel Rosenblatt <joel () COLUMBIA EDU>]

Hi,

We wrote our own system - it runs all the printers in public areas, does quotas, allows you to buy additional printing, 
tracks usage, etc.

It is also being used by large departments - libraries for example.

This will give you some ideas

<http://www.columbia.edu/acis/facilities/printers/>

Thanks,
Joel Rosenblatt

Joel Rosenblatt, Manager Network & Computer Security
Columbia Information Security Office (CISO)
Columbia University, 612 W 115th Street, NY, NY 10025 / 212 854 3033
http://www.columbia.edu/~joel


--On Friday, May 08, 2009 8:28 AM -0400 Richard Miller <miller () KUTZTOWN EDU> wrote:

> 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



Joel Rosenblatt, Manager Network & Computer Security
Columbia Information Security Office (CISO)
Columbia University, 612 W 115th Street, NY, NY 10025 / 212 854 3033
http://www.columbia.edu/~joel