Printing in the Portland State University general access computing labs is regulated by printing quotas. Each user is allocated 500 pages per term that do not carry over to the next term. Users that do not exceed their quota will not incur any charges.
| Number of Printed Pages |
Charge |
| 0 to 500 prints |
No Charge |
| 501 and up |
$0.025 per page |
Users printing over their 500 page per term quota will automatically be billed for the additional printing at $0.025 per page. (Charges are billed to students' account)
Printing Policy FAQ
- Where is this policy in effect?
- This policy is in effect in all PSU general access computer labs and classrooms. The School of Engineering and Computer Science have a different printing policy for it computer labs. See: http://www.cat.pdx.edu/students/printing.php for more information.
- Why did PSU implement a printing quota?
-
- Reduce paper and toner usage in student computing labs
- Reduce waste and promote a resource sustainability - currently, approximately 40% of the paper printed in the labs is not claimed by users and must be recycled
- More fairly distribute costs for excessive printing to students consuming the most paper
- Fee should help offset the increasing costs associated with printing
- Assist the Sustainability Program at PSU
- How do I find out how much of my print quota I have used?
- Check your Account Information page through PSU Webmail. http://webmail.pdx.edu
- What if I use double-sided printing in the lab?
- This will be charged as two pages. The major cost of printing is the carbon toner used to print the page. The toner use is the same on each side of the page so it is counted as 2 pages.
- Who can I contact if I have issues with my printer jobs/quota?
- If you have questions about the printing policy, problems printing a document, or discrepancies in your printing quota amount, the computing lab monitors can assist you in solving issues with your printouts and printer quota.
- What happens to my quota from term to term?
- The printing limit will be reset at the beginning of each term. The quota is set to 500 pages.
- What happens if I use all of my quota?
- You will automatically be charged for additional pages at a rate of $0.025 per page. This will be billed to your student account.
- What do I do if my print job doesn't print or is smudged and unusable?
- Contact the lab monitor who can assist you with reprinting and correcting your quota.
- How can I reduce my printing?
-
- Use web browser bookmarks to save material you are interested in.
- Mail yourself the URLs of web sites you are interested in to maintain a record.
- Printing of course materials can use a lot of paper. Check to see if course packs are available for your course.
- Use the Print Preview feature of applications to verify output layout of documents which you may be frequently updating and only make a printout when you are satisfied with the final result.
- Print multiple pages on one sheet. If you need to print PowerPoint slides, consider printing them 3 or 6 slides to a page, black and white only with no backgrounds. This will speed up the printing process and save your printing quota.
- If your print job does not print, don't resend it. There may be many other jobs ahead of yours or the printer may have run out of paper. If you keep resending your document to the printer, multiple copies will be printed later and deducted from your printing balance.
- When you leave a computer system, make sure you remember to log out. If you leave yourself logged in, someone else may be able to use your quota.
