The cost of printing depends on the color and paper size you wish to use. Color printing is only available in the Fine Arts Center computer classroom and the Learning Commons. Pay-for-Print prices are the following:

• Black and White: 8.5" x 11" (letter): $0.05 per side.
• Color: 8.5" x 11" (letter): $0.35 per side*.
• Color: 8.5" x 14" (legal): $0.50 per side.
• Color: 11" x 17" (tabloid): $.70 per side.

Printing costs are per side, so you if wanted to print a two-sided 8.5" x 11" document in black-and-white it would cost $0.10; the equivalent of printing two sheets.

We are trying to keep the cost we extend to the UMass community at an absolute minimum. The amount we charge covers the cost of equipment, maintenance, supplies and support.

As more classroom materials have been placed online, OIT’s printing costs skyrocketed. For example, printing for one course with 500 students and 650 pages on readings online would use 325,000 pieces of paper. With hundreds of classes posting course content online, the numbers quickly became untenable.

OIT implemented this service after extensive research on viable printing options. Many other colleges and institutions, including Smith and Mt. Holyoke Colleges in our area, use pay-for-print in their classrooms and libraries.

Use your UCard Debit Account to pay for printing in OIT Computer Classrooms. To open a UCard Debit Account:

• New Students: If you went to a New Student Orientation, you signed the form for the UCard Debit Account. If you were 18 years or older, the account was opened. If you were under 18 years of age at that time, you needed a parent’s signature to open the account.
• Other Students, Faculty and Staff: Fill out a Debit Account application on the UMass Amherst UCard Web site or in person at the UCard office (104 Franklin Dining Hall).

You can also purchase a Guest Card for $1 from any of our value transfer stations.

You can print ANY type of document, including eReserves, from OIT Computer Classrooms. Print jobs CANNOT be longer than 50 pages. Print jobs longer than this tie up the printers.

There are several opportunities to cancel a print job during the printing process:

• If, after you've sent a job to the Print Release Station, you decide you don't want it, you don't have to do anything. Print jobs left unclaimed in the Print Release Station's print queue, get deleted after 2 hours.
• If, once you're at the Print Release Station, you decide that you don't want a print job, you can click Logout to return to return to Login screen and cancel your session.

OIT does not offer refunds on print jobs mistakenly sent to a printer from the Print Release Station.

To ensure that you get what you expect when printing, please use the Print Preview function available on most browsers and desktop software.

OIT will reprint a job at no charge if problems with the printer result in:

• unreadable print jobs
• wrinkled or “crumpled” print jobs
• no printout at all

To request a reprint, alert the Student Consultant on duty within 1 hour of the problem printout.

The Library, Isenberg School of Management, Chemistry, and Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning departments all offer pay-for-print services. These systems are independent of the system OIT Computer Classrooms has in place.

Note: The Library and the Isenberg School of Management (ISOM) use the same printing software that OIT Computer Classrooms use. Although the interfaces may look the same as those in our computer classrooms, the procedures and processes driving the software are not (e.g., you cannot use your printing credit in Library or ISOM printers).

OIT offers:

• Simplex (one-sided) printing on 8.5” x 11” (letter) and 11" x 17" (tabloid) paper on our black and white printers. We are working on offering other types of printing, in the future.
• Duplex (two-sided) on 8.5" x 11" (letter), 8.5" x 14" (legal), 11" x 17" (tabloid) on our color printers.

You can print documents in color at the Learning Commons in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library and the Fine Arts Center OIT Classroom. The process of getting your prints and using the pay station is the same as for regular printing.

Alert the Student Consultant on duty in your OIT Computer Classroom. If it is a simple problem (e.g., no paper), they will fix it immediately. The Student Consultant will alert other OIT Computer Classroom staff if the problem is more serious.

If you find that you don’t want a print job, you don’t have to do anything. Unclaimed print jobs get deleted from the printer queue every 2 hours.

This means the transaction server is currently offline. You can still print. The amount will be deducted when the server goes back online.

Once you've opened a Debit Account, you can make additional deposits with cash, check or credit card. Credit card deposits are accepted on the UCard Web site, over the phone, or by fax. You can also visit the UCard Office (104 Franklin Dining Hall), the Campus Center Cashier, and the Bursar's Office to make deposits.

Our unattended value transfer stations in the Library, Campus Center, and Integrated Science Library (LGRC), Hampden C-Store accept cash deposits on evenings and weekends.

Use a Value Transfer Station to deposit funds in your UCard Debit Account. Value transfer stations accept cash only. The unit also dispenses Guest Cards which can be used for campus purchases, vending, laundry, and printing and copying services. Guest Cards are $1 each.

There are three Value Transfer Stations on campus:

• Hampden Convenience Store, Southwest Residential Area
• W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Main Floor
• Campus Center, Main Level
• LGRC Lowrise, Integrated Science Library

Check the balance on your UCard at any one of our value transfer stations, online using our secure Web site, or at one of the Print Release Stations located in our classrooms.

If you lose your UCard, contact the UCard office as soon as possible. If you need to use the printing stations right away, you may do so by purchasing a Guest Card at any of the value transfer stations. Please note your $5 credit does not appear on Guest Cards.

See the UCard Web site for more information on lost cards: http://www.umass.edu/ucard/#lost

Some members of the UMass community (e.g., 5-college students and some NENS) are eligible to receive an OIT Account, but are not eligible for a UCard.

If you are ineligible for a UCard, you can purchase a Guest Card for $1 at any of our value transfer stations

If you encounter problems, submit an online Help Request.
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Contact the OIT Help Desk at 545-9400.