Printing lab has setback

Jonathan Ramos/Assistant News Director

As junior Dilenia Gomez waited, she eagerly continued to press the buttons on the printer to accelerate the process, with a line of five behind her.

“It’s frustrating, especially when you’re all the way [in the back of the line],” said Gomez, who was in line for 15 minutes.

The Wolfe University Center computer lab, which has two printers that it uses to offer free printing to students, has been limited since Oct. 19.

The primary black and white printer has been inactive, with the exception of a few stretches. In addition, students have relied on the color printer in the back of the lab to print, but it is moving very slowly.

Zach Trautenberg, IT & Marketing Coordinator, said the Toshiba Copy Center was notified of the issue. A full service was done on the machine for spare parts that need to be replaced.

Site manager for the Toshiba Copy Center, Marc Payne, said that parts were ordered that would be installed on Oct. 26. Trautenberg hopes the changes will be in effect immediately. As of that afternoon, the printer was still out of order.

Trautenberg is also considering options to improve the long term stability of the WUC computer lab, which offers the printing for up to 30 pages a day.

“One thing we are considering is moving the color machine and using it purely for color only and as a backup machine,” Trautenberg said. “And replacing the old black and white machine with a bigger, higher-end machine that can handle the amount of work.”

Computer lab managers Sterling Georges and Maria Reynaga expressed concern about the workability of the WUC computer lab.

“People abuse the privileges,” Georges said.  “Some people come in during different shifts throughout the day in the morning and afternoon and we can’t really track it.”

The WUC computer lab uses a sign in sheet for students to log the time and the amount of pages they print before they acquire them.

Reynaga is concerned with overuse.

“Our printers have been out of order more often than they are supposed to be, because they’ve been overused,” Reynaga said. “When I first came, it was two boxes of paper every week and a half to two weeks and now its every few days. It’s ridiculous.”

The WUC computer lab receives shipments of boxes with 5,000 sheets. Reynaga, who has been a computer lab manager since fall 2010, said they first noticed a spike in printing this summer.

She believes a restriction on the number of pages allowed is imminent.

“For the amount of printing we do, we need better equipment and implement a further restriction on the printing allowed,” Reynaga said. “The way I see it, they’re probably going to restrict this. The amount of paper and ink has to come out of someone’s pocket.”

The WUC is funded by the Student Government Council at Biscayne Bay Campus, but has a separate operating budget, according to SGC-BBC Speaker of the Senate, Pablo Haspel.