Students have had issues with the printing kiosks at Park University for years. Before March 23, new printing kiosks were installed around campus.

Amanda Bryant, director of student support, helped advise the group that led the charge to upgrade the printing system from Ink to Wepa. The group was comprised of students on the Technology Exploration Committee who are members of PSGA and staff from the IT department.

Bryant said that so far, the group has seen many improvements including fewer issues with possible customer service problems, fewer jams in the printers and a better connection with Google Drive. Wepa also makes it easier to see if any systems need maintenance, and the kiosks seem to be functioning better.

“So ultimately, it’s just the product itself is better, or the program that they use is better,” Bryant said.

Chelsie Shepherd, junior communication studies major, is glad that the kiosks were upgraded.

“I definitely think new printers were needed,” she said. “I usually had a lot of problems printing with the old one to the point where my assignments would be late because I could not get them printed.”

Shepherd also agreed that the new kiosks print much better. She thinks that her prints look very nice when they come out and that it’s an easier system to use once she understood how to use it.

Students can print off the kiosks in three ways, according to Bryant. First, they can log onto the kiosk and choose their document from Google Drive. Second, students can download the Wepa Print App on their computer, add what they want to print to their queue on the app, then log onto a kiosk to release their prints. Lastly, students have a touchless option. They can download the Wepa app on their phone, add what they want to print to their queue on the app and then scan their phone at a kiosk to release their prints.

Emma Meyer, junior geography major, likes the touchless option on these kiosks.

“I do think it’s easier to print with because you just have to hold your phone up to it,” Meyer said.

However, Meyer is not completely happy with the change.

“I’m upset because I had over $40 to print and now it’s gone. I feel like I don’t know where my technology fee is going to,” she said.

Bryant said that Ink, the old system, “was set up to give students $20 every semester, and it seems like maybe it was rolling over when it wasn’t supposed to.” This is why students had more than $20 in their funds. Now, Bryant said, “We just wanted to see how it worked if we went back to the original plan of $20 per semester.”

Bryant added that as of now, no funds will rollover.

“We are kind of in a test trial. Since we started halfway through this semester, we’re going to see how students are utilizing it, see if they’re going through all their funds,” she said. “If students are using them (their funds) more because they (the printers) are more efficient and work better, we will definitely talk about increasing those funds.”

These new printers can be found in all the locations where old printers were before: the residence halls, Academic Plaza, Millsap Foyer, Norrington Center in McAfee Memorial Library and Copley-Thaw Hall. One new printing location was added in the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center.