If you have printed anything at school this year, you have noticed the new printers. Are these new printers any better than the ones last year or are they causing more problems?

The most obvious change is the login method; the printers require you to put in your entire student ID number and full password. Last year, the printers only required students to input their ID’s and only one character for their password. In comparison, having to input all login information seems cumbersome, and has definitely caused lines at the printers to increase significantly.

The printers are also more complicated than the previous printers, and thus confusing. On these printers, you first log in after pressing “Follow-Me” on the screen. Touching this button takes you to your printing-jobs list, from which you can choose which documents you would like to print out. Many students miss this “Follow-Me” button, since it does not intuitively appear to lead to the printing-jobs list. When I was using these printers for the first time, it definitely took me a while to figure out what to do after I logged in.

Another irritating issue with these printers is the switch from photocopying to printing. On the left side of the touch screen, there are three rectangle shaped buttons that are labeled “Copier,” “Printer,” and “Other Function.” If you wanted to print, you would obviously think you must push the printing button but that is not the case. For printing, the printer actually needs to be set on the “Other Function” option. The green light flashes on each button when the printer is set to that mode.

At the same time, I also have observed that there have been fewer paper jams and the printers typically seem to break down less. In addition, they seem to be printing multiple page documents much quicker and more efficiently. So this whole debate brings up the question; which is more important, a quicker login or a higher quality printer? By the end of the year, I believe that almost all students will be able to handle these improved but confusing printers.

Do you think that these printers are helping speed up productivity or causing confusion and longer printing lines? Tell the Harriton Banner what you think!