The school’s fifteen printers and copiers have been replaced and a new system for printing has been implemented.

The printers themselves were a district-wide change made by a new contract with Canon Solutions America.

“The district has relationships with different companies,” Principal Dave Stephens said. “The change was made for thirty schools, not just our school.”

The new contract provides a few financial advantages. For example, the school used to spend around ten-thousand dollars on toner.

“There was some financial gain to this,” Stephens said. “Toner is provided by the company.”

Besides economic benefits, the printers are meant to increase printing efficiency.

“They’re much faster than the old ones used to be,” Technology

Specialist Ken McBeth said.

However, compared to the old printers, most of the printers are thought to be able to handle less.

“They’re a lot smaller and aren’t meant to run as many copies,” geometry teacher Scott Nissley said.

Teachers were given a limit to how many prints they could make.

“There wasn’t (a limit) at first, but there is now. I think it’s fifty pages,” English Teacher Jon Hill said.

Though all the printers are new, the biggest change is the new system.

“When we print, we don’t choose a printer. We choose a server that holds all printers at all times,” Nissley said.

Teachers now use their key cards to link them to the server. The system allows them to save print jobs for future lessons.

“We have to print out notes and homework for every day,” Nissley said. “Sometimes I’ll do a month at a time.”

The system requires teachers to scan their key cards at the chosen printer before it will fulfill a task. Papers printed and then forgotten become a problem of the past.

“It helps you organize yourself in how many times you need to use it,” Hill said. “It also keeps track of how much you use it.”

The school makes hundreds of copies a day, so the new system also helps keep a digital record of how much each staff member uses the copiers and printers.

“They’re more efficient and allow us to monitor,” Stephens said.

Though the use of keycards changes the procedure to print for teachers, it has no effect on students.

Students can still print in labs and in the media center.

“Printing still goes to whatever printer you send it to,” Stephens said.

The new printers are expected to eliminate some of the wait time for students to print papers in the media center.

“Once they’re completely functional they’ll hopefully speed the process of printing, especially for students,” McBeth said.

There have been a few problems with the installation of the new printers. For example, students were unable until last week to print to one of the media center’s two printers.

“Some still have many issues; Students still can’t print directly to one. We’re working with the company to resolve that,” McBeth said.

Fortunately, issues with the printers are thought to be repaired faster. Some problems have already been solved.

“There were some early issues, but those got taken care of very quickly,” Nissley said.

Because the printers and system are so new, it is expected to take some extra time for the staff to adjust to the change.

“Anytime there’s a change, it comes with some trepidation,” Stephens said.