Printing at the New School has changed drastically with the implementation of the ‘Print Release Systems’ this year. One of these stations can be found near every print area. These new systems have been put into effect due to the school’s growing printing needs.
More than 11 million sheets of paper over the past two academic school years were purchased between the administration and individual colleges said New School spokesperson Will Wilbur. These new stations hope to decrease the amount of paper that is printed and often wasted each year.
“Printing has been gradually rising over the past three years for students and faculty,” said Wilbur. “We expect printing to start going down with the print release stations that have been implemented throughout campus.”
Students receive $150 in print credit to be used across the schools printing facilities. This can print out normal copy paper or larger sizes to print out photos and drawings if students are in parsons.
This credit is only useful to a student when the computers and printers are working. With only six weeks into the semester, many students have found that it is more efficient to have a printer in their dorm room. Many professors still require their students to turn in dozens of pages in assignments and readings.
“It’s crazy how many classes require a hard copy of texts,” said Mina Mattes, a freshman at Lang. “I ended up buying my own printer after spending five unsuccessful hours trying to print at the [University Campus] with the help of an IT guy.”
Kelly Wynne, a Journalism and Design student at Lang, said that herself and her roommates had to wait in line for around hour just to print out a few pages.
According to Information Technology, approximately 6.5 million sheets of standard printing paper were purchased in the 2013 to 2014 academic school year, 4.2 million of which were purchased by colleges, and the rest by administrative offices. In the 2015 to 2016 academic year, 5.2 million sheets were purchased, 3.4 million of which were purchased by colleges, and the rest by administrative offices.
The gradual decrease from 6.5 million to 5.2 million is being attributed to the increase in double sided printing and the general use of tablets and computers.
Currently, there is no exact measurement of how much paper is used and wasted.
The school has added 13 ‘Print Release Stations’ that are intended to give the administration a more accurate reading of what is printed and wasted. These stations also allow students to print from their laptops. This has allowed printers to be left in more public areas without oversight. Examples of this can be seen the Social Justice Hub at the University Center compared to printing in the library.
While looking at the school’s overall sustainability there is an increase in the amount recycled between the 2015 fiscal year and the 2016 fiscal year reports. The school has seen a 10 percent increase in recycling as well as a 26 percent increase in composting. However, the school was unable to give exact numbers as to what percentage of the recycled materials were paper goods.
“They are working with our IT and Procurement team to gather more statistics on our paper consumption,” said Erik Eibert, the Assistant Director of Sustainable Initiatives at The New School
Overall, the IT department hopes these new Print Release Stations will decrease the amount of paper wasted, however, results will only be available next year. “Additionally, the implementation of the Climate Action Plan and other initiatives has led to a decrease of printing in administrative offices, as employees’ awareness about printing increases,” said Wilbur.
IT is looking into new ways to charge for printing to make it more cost effective and efficient.