Doesn't our Computer Access Fees pay for printing?

The Computer Access Fees (CAF) pay for much more than printing! CAF funding helps pay for equipment in the Open Access Labs. These fees also fund full and part-time workers, networking and other infrastructure costs that are part of providing an up-to-date computing environment for Texas A&M University (TAMU) students, faculty and staff.

Only a small portion of the total CAF is allocated for student printing. This funding provides for the print allocation that each student receives.

Here’s how it all works:

CIS will keep track of all your print activity for you and include it in your fee statement. You will see CIS Student Printing charges on your fee statement that will include your fees for black and white printing in excess of your 150-page allocation, color printing, and other specialty printing.

Will print charges block my graduation?

Print charges for the current semester will not block graduation. However, they can prevent you from receiving a transcript. Print charges are assessed to your account shortly before the next semester. Since fee statements are no longer mailed, please go to AggiE-Pay to look at your fee statement online and pay for any outstanding balance. 

Does the allocation include the header page that shows my login id?

It’s important to understand why the header page is necessary and its impact on our printing costs before you can understand why the header page is included in the allocation.

Why have header sheets at all? Header sheets protect your privacy preventing others from seeing the content of your print jobs. They also make it easy to locate your print job among all the other print jobs at the print counter. Header sheets are a vital part of your print job.

All of the Open Access Lab printers have regular service and repair under contracts with the manufacturer. The maintenance contract costs are determined by how many sheets of paper pass through the printer. Header pages also contribute to the cost of supplies and overhead.

What about X-print jobs?

X-print jobs are treated just like jobs printed from the labs. Costs will appear on your fee statement, just as all black and white printing, color print jobs and transparencies.

What about poor quality jobs? Do they count?

Jobs that are unsatisfactory due to poor print quality can be credited to your account. Review each document after retrieving it from the print area. Simply present the document to OAL lab staff to request a credit for your faulty job.

What if I print a job by mistake? Do I get charged for it?

All jobs exceeding 100 pages are automatically paused before being sent to the print queue, so you’ll have an opportunity to change your mind before the document is printed. However, if a job is printed in error and less than 100 pages, it will not be credited unless it is of poor print quality.

What about the printing I do between semesters?

If you are registered for the next semester your printing will be counted as part of your next semester’s allocation. If you are not registered for the next semester your student account will be deactivated shortly after the end of your last registered semester.

What about duplexing?

The charge for duplex black and white pages will be slightly lower than that for single-sided pages. Duplexing conserves paper, but uses as much toner as single-sided printing. Additionally, their impact on printer maintenance fees is about the same as single sided pages because duplex sheets must pass through the same printer path as single sided pages.

I’ve got a couple of different login ids. Do I get 150 pages for each login id?

No, the 150-page allocation is for each student. The number of CIS login ids you have doesn’t have any effect.

Where can I comment on this?

You may send email to Suggest@tamu.edu. If you’d like to speak with someone in person, see the lab supervisor in any Open Access Lab.

What impact does this have on my departmental accounts?

None at all! Your allocation applies only to your Open Access Labs accounts.

What’s the allocation for the summer? 

Is it split out per summer session? The summer allocation is currently 75 pages, one half the long semester allocation

What if I don’t pick up what I’ve printed out?

All black and white printouts will be retained in the Open Access Lab in which they were printed for three days. You will be charged for printouts whether you pick them up at the print counter or not.

Will my end of semester bill show each and every print job for the semester?

No, it will show only a single line item.

How do I know how much of my allocation I have left? How can I tell what my printer charges will be?

All registered students can easily see their print account status with the "My Print Charges" utility in the Start menu (In Classic Start Menu, it is located at the top of the Start Menu. In XP Start Menu, it is located under "All Programs"). Simply provide your login id and password after starting the program, and click on the "My Bill" tab. You will see the number of pages that you have printed this semester. You can compare the number of pages you’ve printed this semester with the number you’ve printed last semester. The dollar amount of your current bill will be available as well.

You can easily see exactly what your printing charges are at any time.You can also see your printing history by clicking on the "All Print" tab. Jobs highlighted in yellow have already been billed to your account, credited jobs are lined through, and unhighlighted jobs have not yet been billed.

What about color printing and transparencies? Are they included in this allocation, or do they have their own allocation?

The 150-page allocation doesn’t include color printing or transparencies. Color copies are charged at 85 cents per single sided page, and transparencies are charged at $1.35 per copy. They will be included in your semester fee statement.

Is there anything I can do to avoid a printing bill at the end of the semester?

Yes! See the "Reducing Print Costs"  or pick up a copy at any Open Access Lab.