Move to make printers, copiers use JumboCash means no more free print cards

    Tufts will no longer dispense complementary $10 print cards to students, as public printers and copiers on campus transition into exclusively using JumboCash.
    Printers across campus now feature touch screens, an update that came about after the university transitioned from old technology over the summer. The recent modifications allow students to pay with their university identification cards and will eventually eliminate the need for the system's previously used Conway print cards.
    In addition, Tisch Library has purchased a new color printer. Together, these changes highlight a major software and hardware overhaul to the campus' printing and copying system.
    "I'm honestly really confident that it will be really easy to use and that users will really like it once it's set in stone and put in place," said Christine Kittle, head of library information technology support.
    The changeover eliminated several problems inherent to the old system, including card jamming, said Jeff Weiner, assistant director of instructional services and training for Information Technology Services.
    Utilizing the JumboCash debit program, which is run by Tufts Dining Services, allows for a more standardized system of payment across campus. JumboCash is accepted at on-campus eateries, laundry rooms, the bookstore, some off-campus restaurants and other locations.
    "We think that it's certainly more efficient from an administrative standpoint, but we also believe from talking to students that it's a much more convenient way to approach things," Director of Dining Services Patti Klos said.
    The elimination of the white plastic Conway cards used in years past makes printing and copying more environmentally friendly, according to Kittle.
    University visitors as well as students who have yet to activate their JumboCash accounts can purchase $1 JumboCash guest cards for printing and copying.
    The university installed five self-service kiosks that dispense JumboCash guest cards — four on the Medford/Somerville campus and one on the Boston campus. On the Hill, kiosks are located at Tisch Library, Eaton Computer Lab, the Engineering Project Development Center in Anderson Hall and Ginn Library.
    Tufts began giving away $10 print cards at the beginning of every semester several years ago. It was meant to ease the original transition to the pay-to-print system, which had been introduced when the university dubbed allowing students to print for free too expensive.
    The free print card system was always meant to be temporary, according to Kittle. "It was never intended to go on forever," she said.
    Sophomore Angela Lyonsjustus, who does not have a personal printer at school, said that she depended on her free $10 print card last year.
    "Now that they've changed the system, it's not as affordable to not have a printer on campus," she said.
    The majority of student feedback about the new system has been positive, Kittle said. "We're getting feedback from users on how easy it is to use," she said, but added that the system is still a work in progress and additional student feedback is key.
    To retrieve a job sent to the printer, people must scroll through other users' print jobs shown on the touch screen, an annoyance Kittle said staff is currently trying to fix.
    The loss of free cards aside, students praised the new system for its convenience.
    "I think it's a change in the right direction to continue to integrate more things into JumboCash and continue to expand the program," said Tufts Community Union Senator Dan Pasternack, a junior who serves as a student representative to the faculty's Library Committee.
    But senior Nina Foo says that while the new system may be more streamlined, it has created more confusion than convenience because the university did not publicize the changes well enough.
    "It's supposed to be more convenient, but they didn't explain everything in a way that really translates well for people used to the old system," Foo said, adding that she did not know the system had switched over until she tried to make a copy for the first time this year.
    But senior Mary Sullivan, who works in Eaton Computer Lab, believes the new printing and copying system is an improvement and says it has not generated much misunderstanding.
    "It's actually gone pretty smoothly," she said. "It's actually working a lot better than the old system … although there are a lot of people who miss the free $10 print cards."