53. Why run eduPrint instead of local LAN printers?
Equal between local LAN printers and eduPrint
- Both can do direct print (order queue is possible in eduPrint) if one really want to. Both can do collect print too.
- Both can default to black/white printing instead of colour to get better economy.
Pro eduPrint (con local LAN printers)
- Printing from EduRoam and from both laptops and phones are possible since all printing is authenticated. This opens up printing from private computer and guests.
- Papers and toners are taken care of by eduPrint (via Samhall). BMC will most probably stop with distribution of paper.
- EduPrint defaults to collect print. With collect print, a large job can block the print queue on a printer. When the lock is gone, all remaining jobs may be print and sometimes if they were also print on anther printer, twice. Sometimes with sensitive data.
- All computers may be prepared with a single print driver and queue. This way preparing common client computers usable by all will be simplified.
- If one printer is broken you can go to the other and print there without having to print again.
- More people are aware of how the printing system works. The same printing system is in used at other departments at BMC, other campuses at Uppsala University and even other universities in Sweden.
- Easier scanning to your self.
- The system default to collect print. This means no more printing to unknown printer that cannot be found.
Con eduPrint (pro local LAN printers)
- Using a centralized system will introduce single points of failure. But we are sharing those points with the rest of the university.
- But this means we need some kind of solution for handling printing when the central system is down. EduPrint has a disaster printing option at the reception via USB-key.
- Printing is a bit slower than using direct print. This is due to the document first going to a server and then when the user has authenticated being sent to the printer, instead that going directly to the printer.
- The department has control over the printers. But this also means that if something is not working the department has to fix it.
About costs
Print, copy and scan your documents - eduPrintWith everything accounted for costs are about the same. This is
partly because it is the same company Ricoh that provide the
printers. They had the best deal for the procurement.