Northwestern Print replaced NUPrint in late June as part of the Procurement and Payment Services department’s effort to reduce costs and unify printing services across NU’s Evanston and Chicago campuses. 

As students and staff return to campus for Fall Quarter, the new system is being put to the test. 

NUPrint was run by three different vendors providing copying, printing and scanning devices, whereas Northwestern Print is entirely managed by Ricoh, a digital business service and printing company.

That change allowed for reduced costs and one backend solution to connect all NU departments, according to Bob Trautvetter, director of information technology infrastructure at NU Libraries.

With a lower cost for the University, students now pay less per page — three instead of five cents for black and white and ten cents instead of twenty for color printing, Trautvetter said. However, the formerly $12 printing subsidy included in undergraduate tuition has been reduced to $6.

Trautvetter said one of Northwestern Print’s biggest advantages is “mobility print,” a feature that allows students to have the print queue directly set up on their laptop or mobile device, as opposed to the NUPrint web portal. 

“It’s not something students, faculty or staff will be as familiar with initially,” Trautvetter said. “Students are going to web print because that’s what they know. But I think it’s a big feature that will make printing a little easier for students.” 

Cash is no longer an option for payment. However, Cat Cash can be used across campus printing and dining services, and any leftover student funds from NUPrint have been transferred to Cat Cash.

Undergraduate student ASG printing subsidies are also accommodated in the new service.

Mudd Library assistant Seph Mozes said payment issues prompted NU Libraries to make printing free for a period of time over the summer.

“As of a couple of weeks into the school term, I feel like we’ve been doing just fine,” Mozes said. “Graduate students don’t normally use Cat Cash as much as undergraduates, so I’ve been explaining what Cat Cash is (to them).”

Trautvetter said printing has dropped roughly 60% from pre-pandemic levels. Currently, four out of 10 schools across NU’s two campuses are part of the new system, along with a number of non-academic units like the library. The transition should be finalized within the remaining schools and departments in the next two to four months, he said. 

The project is the result of over three years of work; a request for this proposal came out just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trautvetter said.

For security reasons, a VPN is required if an individual is not connected to the “eduroam” network or a wired connection, he added. 

Weinberg sophomore Miles Azuma-Hall, a former Daily staffer, said he has printed around $15 worth of supplies as practice coordinator for NU Swim Club, which requires printing out pool and dryland sets. He said he noticed the printing subsidy dropped, but overall has had a positive experience with Northwestern Print. 

“The system is much better than last year,” Azuma-Hall said. “Last year I had problems all the time … I have noticed there’s a few extra button presses, but honestly, that works out, because the website updates pretty well.”

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Twitter: @noracollins02

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