Goldsmiths - University of London

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Printing in the Rutherford Building (RB) and the New Academic Building (NAB)

Overview

We use a pre-payment system known as Pcounter for printing in the Rutherford Building (RB). This is linked to your Goldsmiths card.

  • You send something to print from a computer. The printout does not immediately emerge from the printer; instead it is held in a queue awaiting printing. This preserves your confidentiality and also reduces the amount of wastage – which is important both for the environment and also for you, since you pay for printing.
  • You go to any of the printers and swipe your Goldsmiths card on the adjacent card reader. You will see a list of the items that you have sent for printing and you will be asked to confirm each print “job” to print out. The cost for each side printed is deducted from your account automatically. You must have enough funds in your account to pay for a print job before you can print it out. If you do not print a job within two days of sending it to the printer, it is permanently deleted from the queue. Full instructions are available, but you will only need these the first time or two.

Pcounter print stations are located on the ground and first floors of the RB. You can use any of the print stations to print. Colour printers are found within the Copy Centre on the ground floor.

Our computer systems are set by default to print in black-and-white duplex (double-sided) for environmental reasons. You can, however, easily set a specific job to print single-sided, if required by your department for particular pieces of coursework (PhD and MPhil theses fall into this category). Colour printing can also be selected as required by changing the printer selection. Instructions for changing printer settings are available as are suggestions on reducing your printing and how to optimise the printing of web pages.

Please note: You cannot print without your Goldsmiths Card.

Printing Costs

To print, you must have funds in your Pcounter account. Current costs are:

  • A4 black-and-white printing - 4p per side
  • A3 black-and-white printing - 8p per side

Colour printing is double the cost of black-and-white printing:

  • A4 colour printing - 8p per side
  • A3 colour printing - 16p per side

Setting up Your Pcounter Account

To start printing you first need to associate your Goldsmiths card with your Pcounter account. This can be done at the value loader machines on the ground floor of the RB (near to the Help Desk) or on the touch screen release stations attached to some of the printers. Swipe your Goldsmiths card and follow the instructions on the screen. You will need to enter your ITS username and password.

Touch screen release stations can be found on printers in the ground floor of the RB and on the third floor of the NAB. Department of Computing students can also use release stations located in labs in the Whitehead Building and in Hatcham House.

Adding Funds to Your Pcounter Account

You can add funds to your Pcounter account in two ways:

  • Use a credit or debit card with the Pcounter Web Payments system on any computer connected to the internet : http://www.gold.ac.uk/printcredits
  • Use coins, swipe your Goldsmiths card at one of the value loader machines located on the ground floor of the RB, near the Help Desk. These accept coins only, not notes or credit/debit cards.

You can safely add funds to your account in advance, as your credit balance is recorded in the Pcounter system: even if you lose your card, you will still retain your credit.

To check your balance you can swipe your card in any Pcounter reader or value loader machine at any time; or check online in the Web Payments system.

You can also use your Pcounter account to pay for CDs, DVDs and guides at the Help Desk and print and production items in Design & Print Services.

Printing Course Materials

IT Services facilities are not intended for the printing of course materials. Tutors should not ask entire classes to use the RB facilities to print out departmental course materials or on-line resources without the prior agreement of the Director of Information Technology. Instead requests for printing course materials should be referred to Design & Print Services.

Where the Director of Information Technology agrees to permit the printing of course materials, departments should warn students that the printing will be paid for from their own print credits.

Problems

In general any problems with printing or with an individual printer should be reported to the IT Services Help Desk. You may, if needed:

  • Replenish empty paper trays from the stocks - but please take care when doing so.

Please do not:

  • Attempt to clear paper jams
  • Remove or interfere with toner cartridges

Refunds

We do not offer refunds for print credit unless there has been a technical fault or printer error. You can check your print credit at any time online at http://www.gold.ac.uk/printcredits or at any of the value loaders or release stations in the Library or Rutherford Building.

No refunds are given for quota left in your account when you leave the College so you are advised to manage your account accordingly; don't pay more money into the system than you expect to use. Art students should note that this also applies to credit which they have added to their account for the purchase of art materials from the Department of Art Research Laboratories.

If you find yourself with credit remaining at the end of your studies, you can use it to buy items at the IT Services Help Desk. You can also arrange for another student to buy your credit from you - the Help Desk can assist with this.