The new single-print account will make printing more streamlined and convenient for Brock students this coming academic year.

Returning Brock students will notice some changes to printing when they return for the upcoming academic year.

The biggest difference is a consolidation of payment and usage throughout University departments. Previously, students had to buy a card and add money to print (from ITS labs, library and Faculties, for example) and could only use the funds in those departments.

The new single-print account will make printing more streamlined and convenient.

“The benefit to the student is one print fund. They can print in any lab using one central balance,” said Goodman School of Business IT manager Josh Sekel. “The new print vouchers they can redeem online makes it easier to put funds on, and they can purchase from multiple sites.”

The old stored-balance cards used in the library, which returning students can still redeem after switching to the new system, were often inconvenient. In cases where cards were lost, a student who found the card could use the remaining balance.

Now, students can purchase top-up vouchers from the Brock Bookstore, James A. Gibson Library service desk, and, in Hamilton, the Instructional Resource Centre. The vouchers have codes that are entered online and can be used anywhere. Students can add to their balance and check print history from the website.

Money can still be added to accounts via two deposit stations in the computer commons.

“It doesn’t matter where they are, students will be able to draw from that single account,” Sekel said.

Students will soon be able to print to any of the University’s computer lab printers through their centralized printing account. It will also track printing throughout University departments and help the school save paper, which adds an environmentally friendly component to the changes, computer lab administrator Matthew O’Beirn said.