Miami University students can rest easy as the prices for pay-to-print services in the library will remain the same.
If you want to make copies of that huge Zac Efron poster you have so that you can hang one on every wall in your room, however, that price is going to be a little higher this year.
According to Barbara Banks, customer service supervisor for the print center in Gaskill Hall, some pricing changes have been made for the printing services offered.
"The pricing has increased slightly across the board," Banks said. "The color copy prices have gone up nominally as well as the black and white. The large format is where the larger increase has taken place."
According to Banks, the price of an 8.5-by-11 black and white copy is now six cents, a five cent increase from last year. The price of a color copy of the same size is now 25 cents, up from 20 cents last year.
"As we've increased our technology including some of the best printing equipment that's available for digital printing, we have not increased our cost for a number of years," Banks said.
Banks said the print center has actually been operating at a loss for quite some time.
"In order to offset that (loss) we've had to restructure our prices," Banks said.
When compared with competitors, including FedEx, Office Max and Staples, Banks said Miami printing prices are a much
better deal.
"If you look at our competitors prices, they're charging 59 cents for an 8.5-by-11, we're charging 25 cents," Banks said. "They're charging $1.70 for an 11-by-17, we're charging 30 cents. If you look at it that way you can see that we're still offering a great value to the university."
Banks said those specific prices were from the FedEx Office because the services they offer are the most similar to what Miami has to offer.
"You can come in at any given time and someone can assist you," Banks said.
She added Miami offers large format printing, services that are not offered at Office Max and Staples, and those prices are what have increased the most. The price for large format printing has changed from $2.25 a linear foot to $2.25 a square foot, a measurement which Kristin Kieffer, assistant director of IT communications, said is an industry standard.
"It does increase the price significantly," Banks said. "But the closest competitors price is $7.75 a square foot."
Kieffer said the university is keeping the budget of students in mind while considering these price increases.
"We can't jump so far because everybody has a budget here that we need to be concerned about," Kieffer said. "So we're trying to make increases in smaller increments and trying to cover more of the costs and lessen the subsidy of the university."
Banks agreed.
"We're just trying to cover our costs so that we can continue to be here as a resource to the students," Banks said.
Kieffer said she hopes not to see price increases in the future, but admitted it may happen.
"Once we have gathered data from the work that we're doing and looking and saying 'Do we need to do that?' there's a possibility that could happen," Kieffer said of another price increase.
Banks said the print center did lose two full-time workers due to budget cuts, which has made the center a little short of help in the evening.
"We want to try and maintain the level of service even though we're down staff," Kieffer said. "We're working with students and training students so they can understand what we need in terms of how we take jobs in and how to make sure we're providing consistent service."
Kieffer said the prices at pay-to-print copiers and printers, such as those in King Library, have remained the same, at 10 cents for a black and white copy and 25 cents for a color copy.
